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Stephen King Gets Writer's Block for Several Hours
Stephen King felt like a character in one of his own stories. "I'd never had writer's block before," said King. "I wasn't even sure it really existed. I thought it was just other writers being lazy."
King claims the day began normally. "I woke up at 3:20 a.m., screaming and covered in sweat, and jotted down several of my nightmares in the notebook I keep under my pillow. Two will make great short stories and one will probably become a script. Another was nothing spectacular, but I suppose I could send it to Fangoria magazine as a letter to the editor."
Unable to get back to sleep, King went to his desk and pounded out twenty-six pages of his current novel-in-progress. During breakfast he was struck with an idea for a book trilogy that would forever change the way we think about vengeful ghosts. The world will never see that trilogy, however, because he neglected to write down his idea, preferring to finish his toast instead.
After a quick shower (during which he dictated a 3,000-word article on the current state of horror in modern literature), he went back to work and cranked out another thirty-four pages of his novel.
Then, it hit. Writer's block.
"For the first time ever, the words refused to come," said King. "I decided to break for lunch. I ate an entire ham-and-cheese sandwich and didn't get one idea. Not even a dark, disturbing image. I get three dark, disturbing images just going out on my front step to pick up the morning paper. Now, nothing. It was horrible."
King spent several hours after that just staring at his computer screen. "My fingers were poised over the keyboard like a row of ghastly knives ready to sink into soft human flesh, said King. "But nothing came. I wasted the entire afternoon. Fortunately the words came back that night after dinner, and before I went to bed I managed to pound out another forty-six pages."
King's publisher says the delay will not effect the new novel's release schedule.
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