A while back, a friend had shown me a YouTube video of her following the process of Stephen King for a day. It got me thinking, what if I do it for a week?
So… I did. And failed.
And then another friend suggested I read like her that same week. Again, I failed. That was an epic one.
What does King Week entail?
I first looked through the internet for a quick reference to see what he did on a daily basis for writing. Note, his website is a great resource.
This is what I figured out:
- Walk for 3 miles a day (3 is too much for me right now, I opted to 1.5)
- Have a clean workspace free from clutter.
- Water on hand.
- Tea on hand.
- No phone. No internet. No distractions.
- Begin working between 0800 and 0830 (I had to change this to 0900 to 0930 because I am still getting Bug ready for school and he’s gone by then)
- Write 6 to 10 pages (Roughly 2k to 3k words for me)
And so, my journey began.
Day One was my best day of the week. I was going in strong and didn’t have a problem without the coffee (I’m a big coffee drinker. About a large pot worth just for me).
Day Two was a win too, but it took a while to get there. It ended up taking me longer to reach the point of 6 pages. I rewarded myself with a venti cappucino (I allowed myself coffee after the King Process).
Day Three was horrible. I got only a few paragraphs done and decided to use the day to clean instead. I hate an dirty house and needed to get it done. This is why King says to have a clutter free space. Unfortunately, the rest of my house needed it too.
Day Four I… I just stopped. I think I got a few lines done. But really, I took the time doing other writerly things. I had an interview to do with Terri A. Wilson (will post that tomorrow) and I decided to prep up some book reviews.
Day Five never happened.
I could say I was upset about it. In a way I was. However, I learned that I do better writing every day but maybe not pay attention to the page count. And coffee… never say no to coffee.
What about reading like Kenzie?
Well, she had a great list to help me figure out how to read like her.
From what I’ve found… I suck at remembering to turn on my audiobook when on my phone and having a set reading time is just as hard. I see now how she can read so competitively and be wow about it. And yes, she reads competitively. If you don’t know what that is like, check out the reading challenge groups on Facebook.
Mackenzie heads the group Fiction Feud Society and was a player for Book Battle (the game that was a brainchild of mine and is now run by others). Or even check out Reading Rivalry, LitWits, or The Booket List. There are more out there and if you are a booknerd trying to find reading friends and being immersed in the reading community, any of those groups are winners.
Will I try this again?
Absolutely. I’m already planning on doing it later this year and for other authors. This includes reading like Mack. It’s a personal challenge and it’s fun. It is actually fun in a challenging way. I want to challenge myself more and this includes my writing and reading.
What authors would you like to see me try? It can be any author. I’d love to try them out.
Casia's Corner 