Stephen King vs Joan Didion: Two Writers on Process, Revision, and Why They Write
Comparing Stephen King's daily-word-count discipline in On Writing with Joan Didion's notebook-keeping, sentence-by-ear revision, and essays on why she wrote: two documented writing practices and what each teaches.
Stephen King and Joan Didion have almost nothing in common as writers on the surface: King, a prolific author of popular horror and suspense, and Didion, an essayist and novelist known for precise, cool prose. Yet both wrote memorable accounts of how they work. People compare them to see two documented approaches to the writer's life.
What is the core difference?
King writes at volume. His method is to set a quota, show up every day, trust the story to emerge, and revise afterward. He treats the writer's job as a daily practice, closer to a trade than to inspiration.
Didion writes slowly and by ear. Her method is to watch, take notes, work at the sentence until its rhythm is right, and let the writing reveal what she thinks. She described writing as an act of discovery as much as of expression.
One measures the day in words. The other measures it in sentences that sound right.
What does King say?
Stephen King, an American author, has published dozens of novels, including Carrie, The Shining, and The Stand, and many short stories. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000) tells the story of his early life, his struggle with alcohol and drugs, and his advice for writers. It was written in part while recovering from being struck by a van in 1999.
His advice is practical and plain. He insists on reading as the foundation of writing. The book is widely recommended, though his taste for rules is also his own.
What does Didion say?
Joan Didion, an American writer, published the essay collections Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968) and The White Album (1979), novels including Play It as It Lays, and the memoirs The Year of Magical Thinking (2005) and Blue Nights (2011). On Keeping a Notebook and Why I Write are well-known essays about her habits.
She died in December 2021. Her style, cool and exact, has been widely imitated. Her accounts of method are brief and personal, appearing in essays and interviews.
How do they compare?
| Dimension | King | Didion |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Popular fiction: horror, suspense | Essays, literary fiction, memoir, reportage |
| Daily practice | A set word count; steady output | Notebooks; careful sentence work; retyping pages |
| Planning | Does not outline; follows the situation | Writes to discover what she thinks |
| Revision | Close the door, then open it; cut and tighten | Revise by ear for rhythm |
| Key texts | On Writing (2000) | Why I Write (1976); On Keeping a Notebook |
| Advice style | Direct, rule-giving, humorous | Reflective, exacting, spare |
| Dates | Born 1947 | 1934 to 2021 |
When does each one fit?
King's method fits when your problem is getting words on the page: procrastination, perfectionism, or a project that never finishes. A quota and a closed door are simple tools.
Didion's fits when your problem is clarity: you have text but do not know what it says. Writing to find out what you think, and listening for the rhythm of each sentence, are tools for making meaning.
Both can be combined: draft at volume, then read aloud and revise by ear.
What does this look like in practice?
A professional writer wants to finish a report. A King-style plan sets a daily number of words, say a thousand, writes with notifications off, and does not edit while drafting. At the end of the week there is a complete draft.
A Didion-style revision then reads the draft aloud, notes where the thinking is vague, and rewrites sentences until their sense and sound agree. It may reveal what the report really argues. The first gets the draft done, and the second makes it say something.
"I need to write [document] of about [length]. First, in King's style, set a daily word count and schedule, a closed-door drafting rule, and a stopping point. Then, in Didion's style, outline a revision pass in which I read each paragraph aloud, mark where my thinking is vague, and rewrite until I know what I mean. Do not write the document for me."
Why it works: volume produces material and the ear turns it into meaning.
Can you use both together?
Yes, and many writers do. King's discipline gets you to a draft, and Didion's attention improves it. Both rely on reading widely, which each of them emphasizes.
Do not treat their routines as the only way. Writers differ, and both authors described what worked for them.
"Describe my current writing routine: [describe]. Tell me whether I spend more time producing words, as King recommends, or on attending to sentences and finding out what I think, as Didion describes. Suggest an experiment for the next two weeks to adjust the balance, and how I will judge the results."
Why it works: most writers lean one way, and an experiment shows whether adjusting helps.
For a related comparison, see George Saunders vs Stephen King.
Where to go next
Stephen King sits in the Creative Visionary category and Joan Didion in Writer & Cultural Critic. For the originals, read On Writing by King and Didion's essays Why I Write and On Keeping a Notebook.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main advice in On Writing?
In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), King advises reading a lot and writing a lot, writing a set daily number of words (he says about two thousand), writing the first draft with the door closed and revising with the door open, avoiding adverbs and passive voice where possible, and telling the truth. The book combines memoir with advice and was published after his 1999 accident.
What did Didion say about why she wrote?
In her 1976 essay Why I Write, Didion says she writes to find out what she is thinking, what she is looking at, and what it means, and that she cannot know until she writes it. She also describes the importance of grammar and sentence rhythm, which she relates to how a picture's arrangement matters. The essay is short and widely anthologized.
How did Didion revise?
In a 1978 Paris Review interview, she said that she retyped the previous pages each day before moving on, a way of getting back into the rhythm of the work, and that she would sometimes sleep near her manuscript when finishing a book. She emphasized listening to the sound of sentences. These are her own accounts of her habits. She also wrote that the sound of a sentence is as important as its sense, and that she heard each one in her head.
Does King plot his stories?
He says he does not plot in advance. In On Writing, he describes stories as found things, like fossils, which the writer excavates, beginning with a situation and following it. He considers outlining a way of killing spontaneity. Not all writers agree, and he acknowledges that this approach is his own. He describes this as a matter of temperament, and says outliners such as his friends produce excellent work too.
Where do they agree?
Both emphasize that writing is work, that sentences matter, and that you must read and pay attention. Both also write about the personal and the observed, and avoid pretense. Their forms differ, with King working in popular fiction and horror and Didion in literary essays, memoir, and reportage, but their commitment to craft is shared. Their shared stance is that good writing comes from paying close attention, whatever the genre.
Can AI help me use their methods?
It can help set a daily word count, create a revision checklist, or turn a notebook entry into a draft. It cannot find out what you think, which Didion says is the point of writing. Use it for scaffolding, and keep the drafting in your own head. Use it as a timer or an organizer, and not as a source of ideas.
Written by Gareth Hoyle. Last updated 8 October 2026. Part of the authority.md guides library.
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