I Tried Stephen King’s Writing Routine—Here’s What Happened

He puts his first drafts away for six weeks before touching them. And when he does revise, he focuses on:

• Active voice


• Fewer adverbs


• Sharper verbs


• Letting the reader finish the image

when you’ve got an idea that’s fresh — something you’re actually excited about — you need to get that first draft out fast.

Not perfect. Just out. Because the longer you wait, the colder it gets. Writing is about immersion.

He says if he doesn’t write every day, something strange happens. The characters start to fade. They stop feeling real. They become names on a page instead of people living in his head. And worse — he starts to lose his grip. The plot unravels. The pacing slips. The spark begins to die

Every morning, before writing a single new word, he reads the last couple of pages from the day before. Not just to remember where he left off — but to re-enter the world. He describes it like a plane on a runway:

You taxi down the familiar path... and then you take off.

Stephen King doesn’t just write. He disappears. He calls it a kind of self-hypnosis — a trance he slips into through routine, rhythm, and sheer repetition.

Your Writing Setup:

✔ A desk (any desk)

✔ A chair you won’t fall asleep in

✔ A consistent space (your brain loves routine)

✔ A shut door

✔ Optional: music (King’s personal ritual)

✔ Required: No internet, no phone, no social media tabs lurking

In 2014, researchers at Stanford found that walking can boost creative thinking by up to 60%.

Here’s the science: Aerobic exercise like walking increases blood flow to the brain, especially to the prefrontal cortex — the part responsible for focus, decision-making, and memory. It’s like giving your brain a software update every morning. But the real magic? Creativity.