So here is the writing routine of Stephen King.

Morning: Writing
Afternoons: Naps and letters
Evenings: Reading, family, and television

I like that there is a clear and segmented nature to this that flashes glimpses of a military discipline.

I am reading into the tone of course, but I can not imagine King one weekday suddenly deciding to lay in bed and watch TV until noon.

Much more trying is keeping up a writing routine while maintaining a non-writing job.

There are only two real choices. In the morning before work, or in the evening after work.

This reminded me of my parody: A Day In The Life Of A Writer, Who Works From Home.

And, if you wish, here is Annie Dillard’s writing routine.

Anyone looking to start a writing routine, a writing life, must read Bird By Bird.

My own schedule is pretty clear-cut. Mornings belong to whatever is new—the current composition. Afternoons are for naps and letters. Evenings are for reading, family, Red Sox games on TV, and any revisions that just cannot wait. Basically, mornings are my prime writing time.

-Stephen King, On Writing (Amazon)

John Steinbeck agrees that writing small pieces will accrue over time.

It’s like a journey, or any other large project, if you think about it.

All you should focus on is the next step.

Because small moves add up.

It was like starting to write a novel. When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens every time. Then gradually I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I can permit myself to contemplate and I eliminate the possibility of ever finishing.

-John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley In Search Of America