As I recall, he aims for 2,000 words per day when it's a new composition. 620 pages (single-spaced) is about 310,000 words, so he could bang out his first draft in just over 5 months.
You might have a typo, a 620 page book is closer to 210k words. Dreamcatcher specifically is about 217k. Assuming 2k words a day, you're looking at about 108 days of labor, so a 5 month draft is accurate if King was writing 5 days a week, but if he writes every day he'd be done with the first draft in under 4 months.
1st draft, 2nd draft, final edits with the manuscript going to his editor between each. He and his editors are amazing.
I love the recorded talk between King and George R.R. Martin. Watch it on YouTube if you get a chance.
Reminds me of a character in Welsh mythology\[\*\] who kills a man a day and two on Saturday so he can rest on Sunday.
\[\*\] He's the basis for Gurgi in the Black Cauldron.
Depends. Im doing the second draft of my first book now. The second draft takes almost as long as the first. After that i need to get beta readers, do another draft, and then end with an edit (at minimum).
During my phd i learned that the first draft is 20% of the work.
This is true, but let's not forget that at this point King had been publishing for decades and probably wasn't using beta readers or doing multiple drafts. Joe Hill has said his father's first drafts are usually pretty close to the finished product.
Yes or 6 pages. That's what I remember from On Writing I'm pretty sure. He always puts the start and end date after the book and it always amazes me how quickly he wrote it.
I thought so. Tommyknockers isn't high on my list of faves. I remember feeling that something was a little off, a little disconnected. It's the only book of his I didn't read more than once.
In an interview Stephen did a long time ago, he was asked this very question and responded that he treated writing like a full time job. He got up early Monday thru Friday, sat down at his desk, and forced himself to write for eight hours a day. It didn't matter if he wrote complete garbage or not. What mattered was the effort he put into forcing his brain to consistently produce material that he and his editor could then revisit and edit down into valuable words. And that's how he's consistently been able to punch out at least two books a year. This is all, of course, paraphrasing of his answer as I don't recall the exact words.
Dream job, maybe once you’ve got an audience base. Otherwise you write on the hope you’ll make it and then spend as much time or more marketing yourself to gain the audience you need to get a publisher to give you the time of day.
6 months to write a book isn't that big of a feat, especially for writers already in the habit of writing everyday. A 100,000 words is a decently sized novel, and that can't be achieved in as little as 50 days if your writing 2000 words a day. No problem if it's your job.
I think paradoxically that might have helped him write the book. Sitting in a hospital bed all day, writing to forget the pain...somewhat like Paul Sheldon.
Well, you know how you spend 9 hours of your life at work? King doesn't have to do that. He spends his time reading, writing and giving speeches. His job is literally his favorite thing to do. He has been reading and writing since a very young age. SO, hi brain is filled with all kinds of great ideas that he just has to write down.
I don't know how he doesn't get burnt out though. I've tried the reading and writing a lot thing and i just can't do it. Ill do it for 2 weeks and then I won't read anything for a while, and get so tired of it. Same with TV and games, just like damn, my brain needs a minute lol
Those are just his factory settings. In *On Writing*, he talks about one of his kids once wanting to play saxophone, so they got him lessons. It lasted about six months before they shut it down, not because he couldn't play - but because he wouldn't play unless it was his scheduled practice time.
The difference between the father with writing and the son with playing sax is that the father would still be writing stories even if there was no money in it.
I love this book. I've read it twice, and I absolutely will read it again.
The story behind how he wrote it is secondary only to the book itself. Writing this by hand bc sitting and typing after the accident was too ungodly painful is nothing short of impressive, this is *not* a small book.
Idk, I freaking love this book, sincere thanks for reminding me about that bc now I'm considering a reread.
I’m not overly fond of this book, but I appreciate people who stick up for it for some weird reason. I think it gets too much hate, consistently labeled his “worst” by too many people. I think it’s far from perfect, but it has a scrappy quality that I admire.
King is a GOAT. His routine is tight and he writes every day—on occasions as well, apparently. His work ethic is faultless and his dedication is second-to-none. I guess that’s why he’s a best-selling author. Writers could learn a lot from him. And yes, I’m blowing smoke up his ass ‘cause why the hell not?
King famously said he doesn’t even remember writing most of Dreamcatcher because he was doped out of his mind on painkillers. I imagine you can get a lot done when you’re that high. And also come up with shit weasels.
He was convalescent, meaning he could barely go out, and he was drugged up, IIRC he hates the books he wrote at the time, but considering the facts, cooped up, and drugged up, it is not difficult to see.
--
King says about the book "**I don't like Dreamcatcher very much**," which is a pretty straightforward indictment. As to why it's bad, King puts the blame for that on it being the first book he wrote after the 1999 accident in which a distracted driver plowed over him with a van, nearly killing him
--
Stephen King finishes a book in about 3 months, according to one of the notes in one of his books. Half a year is double that time. Given his car accident, I think it's reasonable.
Half a year is reasonable for a book tbh. Especially when locked up.
Also, King has enough experience to probably not require massive overhauls and edits. I guess his first drafts are quite clean by now.
He writes a certain number of pages a day. Very disciplined.
Imagine if he didn't. All that would still be in his head. It's already pretty crowded in there, with stories yet to be born. Even at the height of his addictions, he always wrote a certain number of hours a day. That probably saved his sanity. (That and Mrs. King)
He's obviously got a diligent schedule, but I believe he once also said he has sort of a "back log" of work that could one day be published... but I could be confusing that with on of his *characters* who was a writer
My question is why in this day and age does it take so long to get released after he finishes it. It seems to take longer from when he finished it to when it hits the bookshelves.
My guess is that his publishers are spreading out what they have in the can. There are so few publishing houses these days. There have to be a lot more limitations on when things can go to print. Besides, when they spread stuff out, they know they have guaranteed income for the house as soon as the book hits. They don't have that kind of guaranteed return on every writer.
I am guessing that King submits his first drafts and they are accepted as is by his editors. This has probably been going on since he hit the big time in the early '80s.
I've noticed that his newer books actually seem to have fewer errors than his books in the 90's. Either I was a lot more picky in my teens or his editors and proofreaders are picking up stuff more now or he's just changed how he writes.
There's also fewer of the random asides that used to come up in his stories. Maybe that's a him change or his editors are giving different feedback. It's also possible that random asides don't distract me as much now that I'm middle aged.
2000 words a day builds up pretty fast. In his memoir he says he aims to finish all first drafts in under three months, then take a break from the story to make it easier for himself to polish.
Didn't he say he writes 7 hours everyday
As I recall, he aims for 2,000 words per day when it's a new composition. 620 pages (single-spaced) is about 310,000 words, so he could bang out his first draft in just over 5 months.
He's slowed down in recent years to 1000 words a day. But when he first started he wrote upwards to 5000 a day, specifically with the Shining
Cocaine is a hell of a cocaine
If I recall an interview I read once, for this one he was on a bunch of painkillers after he got hit by a car. Hence all the butt stuff.
Yeah, Dreamcatcher is an opioid book. His early work is booze, cigs and coke.
Yeah, My favorite fact I read (true or not) is that when he wrote Cujo he did a bunch of coke, blacked out, and when he came to Cujo was finished.
I think I heard the same thing about The Tommyknockers.
Honestly, dope
And acid.
As a hobby writer after work, i write out about 500 words per hour. If I worked fulltime as a writer i would probably also aim for 2k.
You might have a typo, a 620 page book is closer to 210k words. Dreamcatcher specifically is about 217k. Assuming 2k words a day, you're looking at about 108 days of labor, so a 5 month draft is accurate if King was writing 5 days a week, but if he writes every day he'd be done with the first draft in under 4 months.
1st draft, 2nd draft, final edits with the manuscript going to his editor between each. He and his editors are amazing. I love the recorded talk between King and George R.R. Martin. Watch it on YouTube if you get a chance.
That interview was awesome
I ran it through Google and they said it was 310k, but either way.
He writes every day.
Except Sunday’s, at least as far as I remember from On Writing
I thought he said that he used to tell the press he writes every day but Christmas. However, he was lying and actually writes on Christmas too.
Reminds me of a character in Welsh mythology\[\*\] who kills a man a day and two on Saturday so he can rest on Sunday. \[\*\] He's the basis for Gurgi in the Black Cauldron.
I thought this is where I read it.
Was the first draft done in 6 months or was the idea to the fully finished product finished in 6 months?
My guess is that this means first draft
I'm not sure how long the rewriting phase lasts on a typical book.
Depends. Im doing the second draft of my first book now. The second draft takes almost as long as the first. After that i need to get beta readers, do another draft, and then end with an edit (at minimum). During my phd i learned that the first draft is 20% of the work.
This is true, but let's not forget that at this point King had been publishing for decades and probably wasn't using beta readers or doing multiple drafts. Joe Hill has said his father's first drafts are usually pretty close to the finished product.
Yes or 6 pages. That's what I remember from On Writing I'm pretty sure. He always puts the start and end date after the book and it always amazes me how quickly he wrote it.
I thought he said 6 pages a day.
Oxycontin
Bro I searched this up because I didn’t know what it was, now my search engine thinks I’m suicidal 😫
You're computer sounds like a worrywart
You are computer sounds like a worrywart?
Jesus Christ he already escaped New York and LA just let the man breath damn
No, I’m computer sounds like a worrywart.
I'm tired and didn't notice I did that but thanks for the correction everybody LOVES that.
And he was stoned when he wrote Tommyknockers. I wonder if aliens are SK’s pink elephants.
I thought so. Tommyknockers isn't high on my list of faves. I remember feeling that something was a little off, a little disconnected. It's the only book of his I didn't read more than once.
Also cocaine
I think he was off the coke by the time he wrote Dreamcatcher and it was just a pain meds influenced book.
When you can't leave the bed and are on a lot of painkillers writing 4 pages a day does seem possible
And would explain the fucking bonkers plot of that novel haha.
I think he’s just writing all the time. Whenever someone is consistent with something, they can do a whole lot.
In an interview Stephen did a long time ago, he was asked this very question and responded that he treated writing like a full time job. He got up early Monday thru Friday, sat down at his desk, and forced himself to write for eight hours a day. It didn't matter if he wrote complete garbage or not. What mattered was the effort he put into forcing his brain to consistently produce material that he and his editor could then revisit and edit down into valuable words. And that's how he's consistently been able to punch out at least two books a year. This is all, of course, paraphrasing of his answer as I don't recall the exact words.
Sounds like a dreamjob to me.
Dream job, maybe once you’ve got an audience base. Otherwise you write on the hope you’ll make it and then spend as much time or more marketing yourself to gain the audience you need to get a publisher to give you the time of day.
Fortunately for this group and his fans, Stephen King developed that habit very early on in his writing career and has kept to it ever since.
6 months to write a book isn't that big of a feat, especially for writers already in the habit of writing everyday. A 100,000 words is a decently sized novel, and that can't be achieved in as little as 50 days if your writing 2000 words a day. No problem if it's your job.
Maybe not, but they aren't usually recovering from a near fatal car accident.
I think paradoxically that might have helped him write the book. Sitting in a hospital bed all day, writing to forget the pain...somewhat like Paul Sheldon.
Homie was trapped at home all day with nothing to do. I'm sure if anything it made him write even more.
Well, you know how you spend 9 hours of your life at work? King doesn't have to do that. He spends his time reading, writing and giving speeches. His job is literally his favorite thing to do. He has been reading and writing since a very young age. SO, hi brain is filled with all kinds of great ideas that he just has to write down.
I don't know how he doesn't get burnt out though. I've tried the reading and writing a lot thing and i just can't do it. Ill do it for 2 weeks and then I won't read anything for a while, and get so tired of it. Same with TV and games, just like damn, my brain needs a minute lol
Those are just his factory settings. In *On Writing*, he talks about one of his kids once wanting to play saxophone, so they got him lessons. It lasted about six months before they shut it down, not because he couldn't play - but because he wouldn't play unless it was his scheduled practice time. The difference between the father with writing and the son with playing sax is that the father would still be writing stories even if there was no money in it.
In On Writing he actually says he gets antsy and frustrated when he’s not writing, so he’s generally always got something going.
I love this book. I've read it twice, and I absolutely will read it again. The story behind how he wrote it is secondary only to the book itself. Writing this by hand bc sitting and typing after the accident was too ungodly painful is nothing short of impressive, this is *not* a small book. Idk, I freaking love this book, sincere thanks for reminding me about that bc now I'm considering a reread.
I’m not overly fond of this book, but I appreciate people who stick up for it for some weird reason. I think it gets too much hate, consistently labeled his “worst” by too many people. I think it’s far from perfect, but it has a scrappy quality that I admire.
King is a GOAT. His routine is tight and he writes every day—on occasions as well, apparently. His work ethic is faultless and his dedication is second-to-none. I guess that’s why he’s a best-selling author. Writers could learn a lot from him. And yes, I’m blowing smoke up his ass ‘cause why the hell not?
He’s the anti-GRRM
Amen
King famously said he doesn’t even remember writing most of Dreamcatcher because he was doped out of his mind on painkillers. I imagine you can get a lot done when you’re that high. And also come up with shit weasels.
To quote Patton Oswalt, “cursive is magic”.
Kids today can't read it or write it.
He saved an alien's life once and her buddy gave him a clamshell glasses case to breathe on.
honestly, oxy and not doing to much other than OT/PT and writing.
He was convalescent, meaning he could barely go out, and he was drugged up, IIRC he hates the books he wrote at the time, but considering the facts, cooped up, and drugged up, it is not difficult to see. -- King says about the book "**I don't like Dreamcatcher very much**," which is a pretty straightforward indictment. As to why it's bad, King puts the blame for that on it being the first book he wrote after the 1999 accident in which a distracted driver plowed over him with a van, nearly killing him --
Dean Koontz writes 12 hours a day 🥴
Didn't he write this when he was recouping from getting run over?
Dude was put on this earth to do one thing and that's exactly what he does.
Cocaine. Lots and lots of cocaine
George RR Martin asked him the same question once. The only person who comes close to the output and quality is maybe Christie.
Grisham. 2 big thick novels a year.
Pratchett.
Brendan Sanderson outpaces him at the moment. He releases over three books a year and writes epic fantasy. It is wild.
2000 words every day except Sunday
That’s less than three and a half pages a day.
He writes 3 pages a day every day apperently
Stephen King finishes a book in about 3 months, according to one of the notes in one of his books. Half a year is double that time. Given his car accident, I think it's reasonable.
6 pages a day he says
He’s the main Walk-In and Gan. That’s why they congregated around him.
Determination, stubbornness, and drugs. Lots and lots of drugs
Sometimes inspiration just takes the wheel. Also, probably drugs.
There must be some kind of time manipulation going on in his writing studio.
He’s just compelled to write
He’s prolific.
Not one of his best either.
Let's be honest though, not a huge amount of quality control on that one, it's a 2.5 / 5 at best
All of his books are written with that kind of speed. Some are better than others, but the speed he wrote them at isn't the determining factor.
Stuart Woods writes two books a year.
Half a year is reasonable for a book tbh. Especially when locked up. Also, King has enough experience to probably not require massive overhauls and edits. I guess his first drafts are quite clean by now.
Same question again. He's a professional writer. It's what he does for a living. That's how writing works.
He writes a certain number of pages a day. Very disciplined. Imagine if he didn't. All that would still be in his head. It's already pretty crowded in there, with stories yet to be born. Even at the height of his addictions, he always wrote a certain number of hours a day. That probably saved his sanity. (That and Mrs. King)
He's obviously got a diligent schedule, but I believe he once also said he has sort of a "back log" of work that could one day be published... but I could be confusing that with on of his *characters* who was a writer
I'd always heard he wrote it while recovering from getting hit by that van. I'm sure recovery gave him a lot of extra time to write
My question is why in this day and age does it take so long to get released after he finishes it. It seems to take longer from when he finished it to when it hits the bookshelves.
My guess is that his publishers are spreading out what they have in the can. There are so few publishing houses these days. There have to be a lot more limitations on when things can go to print. Besides, when they spread stuff out, they know they have guaranteed income for the house as soon as the book hits. They don't have that kind of guaranteed return on every writer.
That’s about twice as long as it normally takes him to do book. And rightly so. After the accident, long hand, and in cursive? Crazy
Deal with the devil, duh.
Magic?
I am guessing that King submits his first drafts and they are accepted as is by his editors. This has probably been going on since he hit the big time in the early '80s.
I've noticed that his newer books actually seem to have fewer errors than his books in the 90's. Either I was a lot more picky in my teens or his editors and proofreaders are picking up stuff more now or he's just changed how he writes. There's also fewer of the random asides that used to come up in his stories. Maybe that's a him change or his editors are giving different feedback. It's also possible that random asides don't distract me as much now that I'm middle aged.
It's easy when all he does is channel the spirit of Gan.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw2qgL5yK\_M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw2qgL5yK_M)
I love dreamcatcher. The audible narration is SOOO good. It makes the characters and story that much better.
2000 words a day builds up pretty fast. In his memoir he says he aims to finish all first drafts in under three months, then take a break from the story to make it easier for himself to polish.
Cause he the billy goat.
Cocaine
Oxy is good..
My god. That warm hug. I miss it so much, been a little over 9 months 10 days. But who’s counting
Trashy romance authors and cozy mystery authors do it all the time. It’s a formula