Steinbeck kept track of things while writing East of Eden, and by his account, the novel took:
- 11 years of mental gestation
- One year of uninterrupted writing
- 25 dozen pencils
- Approximately three dozen reams of paper
- 350,000 words (before cutting)
- About 75,000 words in his work-in-progress journal
- And a rock-hard callus on the middle finger of the his right hand.
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What does "One year of uninterrupted writing" mean, exactly?
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to get that callus, 3 days into the school year.....
There were some letters (to his editor) at the Steinbeck Museum. I know that I shouldn't talk, but i could not read anything he had written.
(guessing this doesn't count as one of my comments, so I'll keep looking)
I hope it was just hyperbole (exaggeration for effect)! And sure, that counts.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think I would go crazy if I tried to write for an entire year straight. Having said that, I find it very impressive that Steinbeck could finish such a long, and well written novel in only one year. I also find it incredible that he wrote the majority of the story (if not the entire thing) by hand!
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