21 Fascinating Facts And Tidbits Of Great Writers
Perhaps you might find this interesting, educative or bizarre.
It is about some behind-the-scenes habits of some great writers.
Take a look…
1. William Wordsworth: (1770-1850) - Was a famous English romantic poet who lost both his parents before he was 15 years. It is said that he would narrate his poem to his dog. If the canine barked or was upset by the words, he would have to rework on the poem.
2. Dick King-Smith: (1922-2011) -Wrote his first published book in 1978 at the age of 56. Thereafter, he wrote at least 107 books. He had many pets including rats and mice.
3. Anthony Trollope: (1815-1882)-The man who wrote 47 novels while working full time at the British Post Office, wrote from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., with his watch in front of him. He had a target of 250 words every 15 minutes.
4. Barbara Cartland: (1901-2000) –She wrote 722 books in her illustrious 80-year career which translates to about a book every 40 days. She typically wrote between 6,000-7,000 words per day. Not surprisingly, her books sold more than one billion copies worldwide.
5. Danielle Steel –The fiction writer who has sold in excess of 800 million books works for 20 hours a day when doing her first draft using a manual 1946 Olympia typewriter. She normally works on 4 to 5 books at a time.
6. Stephen King- The American author whose books have sold in excess of 350 million copies writes 2,000 words daily without exception. He claims that if you can’t get four to six hours a day to read and write, then forget about becoming a great writer. Apparently King does not believe writing classes can teach someone to write.
7. Charles Hamilton: (1876-1961) –At his peak, wrote 1.5 million words a year and is estimated to have written 100 million words in his lifetime. It may be of interest for you to know that he never married.
8. Erle Stanley Gardner: (1889-1970) –Was an American lawyer who wrote nearly 100 detective and mystery novels. At his peak, he was writing more than 200,000 words a month, but could still manage to devote two days a week for his law practice.
9. Michael Masterson –Cofounder of American Writers and Artist Institute Inc ( AWAI), and author of more than seven books never reads email before 9am. I gather from his Early to Rise website that he didn’t have cable TV for 20 years-despite his affluence.
10. Clayton Makepeace - The man whose first job was earning him $1.6 an hour, but now has been making $1,000,000 from copywriting since 1997 starts working at 4.00am and quits at 3.30pm.
11. Mike Palmer –The licensed attorney head of Stansberry Research copywriting team writes in the morning for at least 3 hours using the Gene Schwartz method. Instead of 33 minutes, he does 45. Since 2002 has been instrumental in the mailing of over 26 million promos that have brought in over 400,000 paid subscribers.
12. David Ogilvy: (1911-1999) - One of the most celebrated copywriter of the past century used to start his day at dawn and close shop after midnight in the early days of starting his ad agency.
13. John Cheever: (1912-1982) - American novelist and 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner had a peculiar habit. He would get up, dress in a suit and get into the basement storage area. Once there he would strip down to his boxers shorts and start writing. At lunch time he would put on the suit and go up to take a sandwich before going back to write repeating the ritual of stripping.
14. Edith Sitwell: (1887-1964) – The English poet described by the Guardian as ‘pioneering modernist genius’ had a very odd habit. It is said that she would lie in an open coffin for several minutes in the morning before settling down to write- strange indeed.
15. Dan Brown –The American author of thriller fiction works seven days a week, starting at 4am. The former English teacher, known for bestseller the DaVinci Code writes from his loft.
16. Truman Capote: (1924-1984) - He could only write when in a horizontal position either lying down, in bed or stretched on a couch. He normally wrote his first version in longhand always with a cigarette and coffee nearby. Capote was an avid reader who would average 5 novels a week.
17. Louis L’amour: (1908-1988)-The man whose work was rejected 350 times before being published wrote more than 100 novels, with more than 200 million printed so far.
18. Sidney Sheldon: (1917-2007) - The Chicago born American writer was at one point the 6th best selling author of all time. He sold his first poem at age 11. He typically worked from 9 in the morning until 6 at night, seven days a week.
19. Agatha Christie: (1890-1976) -Was a British writer named by Guinness Book of World Records as the bestselling novelist of all time. She taught her herself to read at the age of 4 despite her mother’s believe that children should not learn to read until they were 8.
20. Ernest Hemingway: (1899-1961) - The 1954 winner of Nobel Peace Prize Of Literature wrote just 500 words a day.
21. Victor Hugo: (1802-1885) – Was a French poet, novelist and playwright. He was said to prefer to write in the nude.
Let me finish with…
Jon Favreau – This man is blessed with unmistakable talent. He wrote some of the most memorable speeches for President Barack Obama while in his twenties, sometimes while holed in Starbucks.
During the last 2008 US presidential, campaign period, he would routinely be up as early as 5am, and work until 3am on the next speech.
In 2009, he was named, by Time magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World”. He is said to be one of the highest paid White House staff member-no doubt a great achievement for a man who was born on 2 June 1981.
What are your thoughts? Any other peculiar habits of writers you can share?
It is about some behind-the-scenes habits of some great writers.
Take a look…
1. William Wordsworth: (1770-1850) - Was a famous English romantic poet who lost both his parents before he was 15 years. It is said that he would narrate his poem to his dog. If the canine barked or was upset by the words, he would have to rework on the poem.
2. Dick King-Smith: (1922-2011) -Wrote his first published book in 1978 at the age of 56. Thereafter, he wrote at least 107 books. He had many pets including rats and mice.
3. Anthony Trollope: (1815-1882)-The man who wrote 47 novels while working full time at the British Post Office, wrote from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., with his watch in front of him. He had a target of 250 words every 15 minutes.
4. Barbara Cartland: (1901-2000) –She wrote 722 books in her illustrious 80-year career which translates to about a book every 40 days. She typically wrote between 6,000-7,000 words per day. Not surprisingly, her books sold more than one billion copies worldwide.
5. Danielle Steel –The fiction writer who has sold in excess of 800 million books works for 20 hours a day when doing her first draft using a manual 1946 Olympia typewriter. She normally works on 4 to 5 books at a time.
6. Stephen King- The American author whose books have sold in excess of 350 million copies writes 2,000 words daily without exception. He claims that if you can’t get four to six hours a day to read and write, then forget about becoming a great writer. Apparently King does not believe writing classes can teach someone to write.
7. Charles Hamilton: (1876-1961) –At his peak, wrote 1.5 million words a year and is estimated to have written 100 million words in his lifetime. It may be of interest for you to know that he never married.
8. Erle Stanley Gardner: (1889-1970) –Was an American lawyer who wrote nearly 100 detective and mystery novels. At his peak, he was writing more than 200,000 words a month, but could still manage to devote two days a week for his law practice.
9. Michael Masterson –Cofounder of American Writers and Artist Institute Inc ( AWAI), and author of more than seven books never reads email before 9am. I gather from his Early to Rise website that he didn’t have cable TV for 20 years-despite his affluence.
10. Clayton Makepeace - The man whose first job was earning him $1.6 an hour, but now has been making $1,000,000 from copywriting since 1997 starts working at 4.00am and quits at 3.30pm.
11. Mike Palmer –The licensed attorney head of Stansberry Research copywriting team writes in the morning for at least 3 hours using the Gene Schwartz method. Instead of 33 minutes, he does 45. Since 2002 has been instrumental in the mailing of over 26 million promos that have brought in over 400,000 paid subscribers.
12. David Ogilvy: (1911-1999) - One of the most celebrated copywriter of the past century used to start his day at dawn and close shop after midnight in the early days of starting his ad agency.
13. John Cheever: (1912-1982) - American novelist and 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner had a peculiar habit. He would get up, dress in a suit and get into the basement storage area. Once there he would strip down to his boxers shorts and start writing. At lunch time he would put on the suit and go up to take a sandwich before going back to write repeating the ritual of stripping.
14. Edith Sitwell: (1887-1964) – The English poet described by the Guardian as ‘pioneering modernist genius’ had a very odd habit. It is said that she would lie in an open coffin for several minutes in the morning before settling down to write- strange indeed.
15. Dan Brown –The American author of thriller fiction works seven days a week, starting at 4am. The former English teacher, known for bestseller the DaVinci Code writes from his loft.
16. Truman Capote: (1924-1984) - He could only write when in a horizontal position either lying down, in bed or stretched on a couch. He normally wrote his first version in longhand always with a cigarette and coffee nearby. Capote was an avid reader who would average 5 novels a week.
17. Louis L’amour: (1908-1988)-The man whose work was rejected 350 times before being published wrote more than 100 novels, with more than 200 million printed so far.
18. Sidney Sheldon: (1917-2007) - The Chicago born American writer was at one point the 6th best selling author of all time. He sold his first poem at age 11. He typically worked from 9 in the morning until 6 at night, seven days a week.
19. Agatha Christie: (1890-1976) -Was a British writer named by Guinness Book of World Records as the bestselling novelist of all time. She taught her herself to read at the age of 4 despite her mother’s believe that children should not learn to read until they were 8.
20. Ernest Hemingway: (1899-1961) - The 1954 winner of Nobel Peace Prize Of Literature wrote just 500 words a day.
21. Victor Hugo: (1802-1885) – Was a French poet, novelist and playwright. He was said to prefer to write in the nude.
Let me finish with…
Jon Favreau – This man is blessed with unmistakable talent. He wrote some of the most memorable speeches for President Barack Obama while in his twenties, sometimes while holed in Starbucks.
During the last 2008 US presidential, campaign period, he would routinely be up as early as 5am, and work until 3am on the next speech.
In 2009, he was named, by Time magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World”. He is said to be one of the highest paid White House staff member-no doubt a great achievement for a man who was born on 2 June 1981.
What are your thoughts? Any other peculiar habits of writers you can share?
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