The Great Commandment, according to Stephen King…

…is “read a lot, write a lot.”

Read a lot? Got that covered. No problem.

Write a lot? Well, in comparison to Stephen King, no. He likes to write ten pages a day, every day, with very few skipped days. His pages are 200 words each, so 2,000 words a day.

Writing 2,000 words a day, even 80% of the time, would be five to eight books a year. NOW you’re talking! Talking the impossible, for me, anyway. I’ve occasionally managed to write 2,000 words a day, but that’s rare. In fact, I’m pleased if I write 500, though 250 isn’t out of the norm, but 2,000? Day after day? Hah!

What about editing? For me, the Great Commandment might have to include editing because it’s such an integral part of my writing process. I call myself a scroller. When I first begin to work each day I scroll back at least a few pages in my manuscript, if not five or six, to read and edit. Then I write new words. Scrolling back immerses me in the story, gets me focused, and reminds me where I left off. Perhaps that’s why I’m not speedy – I spend so much time editing. I also periodically print out fifty or a hundred pages for a “major” read for story continuity, and of course at the end of the draft it’s edit, edit, edit. So I think I need to adapt the Great Commandment to my own writing style by editing it to say, “read a lot, write a lot, edit a lot.”

What about you? Would you edit the Great Commandment?

by Janet Fogg