George RR Martin asks Stephen King: "How do you write so Fast?!"
Why Hacker News recommends it
Shared in productivity and writing threads for King's simple daily-quota approach to producing a lot of work.
What it is
A short clip of George R.R. Martin asking Stephen King on stage how he writes so fast. King describes setting daily page goals, around six pages a day, and keeping focused hours.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2018 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec komali2 · 2022-12 · on “Show HN: Write 500 Words a Day”
One of my favorite videos is when George RR Martin asks Stephen King on stage, "How the fuck do you write so many books so fast?" [this video] Stephen King answers basically with the same advice he's always given, as you said, he tries to write 6 pages a day. In the video, he says he tries to get 3-4 hours of work a day, and get to that 6 pages. He breaks it down, "if the manuscript is x length, it will take y months to finish." George RR Martin goes on to ask essentially, "but what if writer's block? What if internet distraction? What if something comes up?" He goes on to tell a story about Rowling that basically resolves with "nobody really understands what writers do," but based on King's own
Recommends nybblesio · 2019-03 · on “Ask HN: How do I 3x my performance?”
I love what Stephen King says on this topic: "I try to get six pages a day." [1] He works 3 to 4 hours per day, every day. He most likely works the same time block every day. As he says in the video, life happens. Don't stress life happening. Attend to things that come up and return to your "six pages a day". The number of pages isn't important. King even qualifies his answer by saying, "...if things go well." The key component here is: - every day; - preferably same time block each day; - concentrated effort; - attainable goal with a bit of a stretch each day. I adopted this model several years ago and my productivity went through the roof. (From my own perspective, measuring against myself
Cites Reedx · 2018-06 · on “Stephen King: Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (2015)”
Reminds me of when George RR Martin asked King, "How the fuck do you write so many books so fast?" [this video]
Cites theshrike79 · 2025-12 · on “Ask HN: How can I get better at using AI for programming?”
It's not fully apocryphal, there's video of it: [this video] - not those exact words, but the gist of it is there. (Full video here: [LINK] )