Stephen King

“There are certain things I do if I sit down to write,” he said. “I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning,” he explained. “I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.

“It’s not any different than a bedtime routine,” he continued. “Do you go to bed a different way every night? Is there a certain side you sleep on? I mean I brush my teeth, I wash my hands. Why would anybody wash their hands before they go to bed? I don’t know. And the pillows are supposed to be pointed a certain way. The open side of the pillowcase is supposed to be pointed in toward the other side of the bed. I don’t know why.”

Lisa Rogak, Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King

(Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books.)

Comments

[micky]

I admire his works for years and I thought he writes when he is inspired and don't stop for hours...
Interesting routine.

[Val Erde]

I seem to remember (from his autobiography, I think) that he also writes exactly 30 pages a day. Every day.

[Jess]

I'm halfway through the last book in his Dark Tower series right now. The journey has been absolutely incredible. In a way, I don't want it to end. I highly encourage anyone who remotely likes his writing to read it.

[almu]

You are my heroe

[Boris]

Not usually a fan of Stephen King, but this is actually a great analogy between sleeping and writing. Maybe I'll give him another chance?

[sarah]

makes a lot of sense.

[Carrie]

If it means being able to write about two dozen bestsellers, maybe I should start washing my hands before bed too!