Stephen King's Writer's Workflow

Dear Stephen,

I searched and searched and searched for my copy of your book "On Writing." I bought it back in 2000, when you first had it published. I've read it a couple of times. Then after I got married and life got filled with all the other things that happen, I believe that book along with most of the other books I had got sold or donated to make way for cribs and toys and all the other things that come with having a family.

The reason I was looking for the book was because I am curious about your processes for writing everyday. I want to know how you are able to sit down and get so many words out, allowing you to publish 2 or more books per year. Researching the information online things I found a blurb from "On Writing" where you say you write 10 pages a day without fail, even on holidays. That’s a lot of writing. If I work out the math that would be 250 words per paperback book page which means you have to write about 2,500 words per day. If you write 10 pages single spaced in an 8.5x11 page format, then you will have almost twice that at about 5,000 words per day. I suppose that is what you can do when your career is writing.

Lisa Rogak wrote in her book about you, "Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King" a statement you made, “There are certain things I do if I sit down to write, 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, 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."

This makes me want to find a routine in my own life where I can sit down everyday and write. My schedule is so unpredictable. I am working all kinds of hours. The kids always have something going on that needs my attention. I just have to find that hour everyday where I can sit down and write. I would love to find the consistent time, the time that happens each day where I am not doing anything, where I can place that block of writing time. At this moment, I believe that perfect time would be right when I get home from work and before I start making dinner for the family. That is usually the time I sit or lay down on the couch and rest for a while. Maybe this is the time I should be writing.

I think I am going to hunt down another copy of "On Writing." I really want to read it again. The thing is I want my first edition back and it seems it is a little difficult to find. Even on Amazon, there are only 2 used editions available. I am also going to see if I can find a copy of that book club release called, "Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing". I am sure there is a lot of great information in that book I could use to become a better writer.

I hope you have a great week. Here is to being productive.
Thank you for allowing me to carry on as I do.

Your Buddy,
Robert T Gasperson

Not Your Ordinary Stephen King Fanboy

Dear Stephen King

I was thinking about what it would be like to meet you in person. I'm not talking about just meeting you in a line of other fans or outside a venue trying to get you to sign my book. I was wondering what it might be like to sit down at a table and speak to you as a human being. I'm thinking more than just an interview, more like a talk between friends or colleagues.

I wonder how I would react. I know that you say you are just another guy who happened to sell a few books and become recognized world wide. There is no reason to put you on a pedestal. Many of your fans do that. I'd like to think I would treat you more like a friend, that I would be able to sit down with you and have a real conversation, a conversation that would not restate all the things everyone else talks with you about.

I am sure that you talk about your books on a regular basis, or how you find ideas for what you write. I can find that information anywhere online. I want to sit down and hear more about you. I want to hear about your Red Sox and some of the stories you might be able about meeting some of your favorite Rock and Roll superstars. It would be fun to hear about your fanboy moments.

Would I try to get you to Sign my stuff? I have tried to get your autograph in the past. I have sent you letters to see if you might send me an autograph. I received a letter from your assistant stating that you were uncomfortable sending autographs through the mail. I can understand that. It is more meaningful to the fans who get to meet you in person and have you autograph their book.

I think I have decided that it is more important for me to have the experience of meeting you, to have a meaningful conversation with you. Your autograph is just a pen mark on paper.  Nothing more, nothing less. An autograph would be nice but it would not change me as a person, a conversation with you would.

Thank you for taking the time to read my humble words, and I hope one day we will get to meet each other. Until that day, take care and keep writing.

Your Friend,
Robert T. Gasperson

Brainstorming a Short Story

I have been trying a new way of outlining short stories. I wanted to see if it would make the process of writing any more efficient. The idea is simple. I find 7 points in the story I want to tell to get from the hook to the resolution. Each of these points are the beats and the movement of the story.

I then come up with seven points between each of those major beats. The idea is to decide how each of those beats will unfold. I try to keep the ideas to 7, but if need be, I can go longer.

So 7 beats times 7 points per beat means I will have 49 Steps in my story. If each of those steps are about 100-200 words each, then I will have a short story that is 5,000-10,000 words long. Not too shabby.

If You Don't Have Time, Write Poetry

This week has been extremely busy at work. I have been staying late to get the store ready for opening. What does this mean for my writing. I have been finding it difficult finding the time to invest in my fictional writing. This is going to have to change if I am to write a 50,000 word novel next year. 

One of the things I do when I am not sitting in front of a computer is write haiku. I might be waiting for one of my kids or sitting in the car on my lunch break. I will pull out my notebook and write a haiku or two. I use whatever is going on in my life at the time as inspiration for my haiku. It is amazing what you can fit into 17 syllables.

You don't have to write haiku in these short spans of time. You can write lyrics or sonnets or even a few lines of free-verse. It doesn't really matter what you write as long as you are forcing your mind to be creative. If you can do this, maybe you can reset your creativity so when you do go back to the longer piece of fiction, there will be something there to write.

Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo 2012

This year will be my 8th or 9th year participating in National Novel Writing Month. I have a blast every year attempting to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I find that it is nearly impossible for me to complete the challenge. I think the furthest I have ever gotten was about 30,000 words. This year I intend to go all the way. In fact I am planing to go to 80,000 words. I want a full novels length.

I have a simple plan to get to the number of words that I want to get to. I am going to write a daily journal of my main character. You are going to get to see the life of this man through his eyes and through his thoughts.

What I like about this format is that I can write the book in really short sections. I figure if I can write about 220 words for each day for the whole year, I will have an 80,000 novel (220 words x 365 days = 80,300 words). 

To get the story across, I will probably write more than 220 words per day. It will be more like 300-500 words average per day. If I can do that I might even end up with a 120,000 word novel. That will be great.

I am trying to plan out an arc that will work itself out over the course of the year. I want the main character to meet a woman and find her fastening and worth taking the time to include her in his year long project. I guess this is going to make this story a romance. We will see how it comes out.

Flash Fiction Rejected

I got a rejection today for one of the pieces of flash fiction I wrote a couple of weeks ago. They were right. They did get back to me within three weeks. The response was a standard "Thank you for your submission, but it is not right for our publication." rejection.

That is OK. I am already working on my next piece of fiction and hope to submit it soon. It is due at the end of the month of October. From everything I have read, you should not listen to the rejections as they come in. You should keep sending out new writing as you write it. As your work comes back rejected, you should find a new market to send it to and keep it out there in the world.

My intention for my rejected flash fiction is to read through it again and to see if there are any improvements I can make, then see if I can find somewhere new I can submit it. It is flash fiction, so the places I can send it to are limited, but I am sure I will find an appropriate market to send it to.

So Close to the Finish Line I Can Taste It

I am about a thousand words from the end of the short story I am writing, yet I don't want to sit down and finish writing it. I don't know what it is. It might be the fear of writing a bad ending. It might be the fear of having to send off the finished piece to see if I can get it published. It might be I don't want the story to end. Whatever the case, I still need to sit down and write the ending of this story.

Here is another problem that I come across when I am trying to finish a story. I find myself thinking about several other different projects I want to start instead of doing what I should be doing. I should be writing the end of my short story. Right now I am finding myself thinking about the month of November and what I want to write for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

I need to think about what must be written. I need tho think about how I am going to force myself to sit and write till it is done. I think I am going to have to carve out 2 hours of time with an egg timer set and the will to sit there till the two hours are up or I finish my short story.

Hmmm....

I think I am going to go make a sandwich.