A deathly fourth "secret" to Stephen King's prolific output
Blazing Reader,
In On Writing, Stephen King shares four "secrets" to his prolific writing — sadly, the fourth one being quite deadly:
"I think it was quitting smoking that slowed me down; nicotine is a great synapse enhancer. The problem, of course, is that it’s killing you at the same time it’s helping you compose."
Drugs aside, in my last two posts I shared three other reasons King believes he has been so successful:
- A "serene environment" free of "alarms and excursions."
- A "healthy body."
- And a "stable marriage."
I can personally attest to all three....
Firstly, my son, growing up, learned to knock only on the door of my writing studio if there was blood, fire, or his mother was having an insulin reaction. Once, when he was seven, he couldn't get the headphones on his computer to work. Rather than wait to ask me for help, he started knocking on apartment doors in our building and had a good ol' time getting to know the elderly neighbours.
Regarding the second point: trying to write for hours when you feel physically unwell or tired is a form of torture best reserved for a Gulag Archipelago Writers' Bootcamp. This is why, for example, I run 7km each day (except Saturdays and lightning storms) and get enough sleep.
Third point: My first and late wife was an unfailing fan of my writing and — despite all the hardships of our life together — never discouraged the time I spent with pen to paper. In fact, shortly before Nicole passed, I wrote a tribute to her quoting Stephen King’s own heartfelt appreciation for his wife, Tabitha.
Likewise, Ina, my living polyglot spouse, showed enormous patience in helping me with the German and French pronunciation during the many months of rehearsals for the Much Ado About Corona audio book (coming soon to a headset near your ears). She even flew to the studio in Canada to help with the production (as you can see here).
There you go: If you have a big book or other project to complete, then... stay focused, do lots of push-ups and buy your spouse plenty of flowers — so says the King of Horror.
John C.A. Manley
John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.
