Dean Koontz Quotes

You don't turn out as many books as I did then by sitting around, being cozy with the family.

Very few people know how to work. Inspiration, everybody has inspiration. That's just hot air.

As a writer, I've always been somebody who's been productive and hustled hard.

People always ask, 'How do you write so many books?' And I say, I work a lot. I work six or seven days a week.

Every day I'm not working or writing is a wasted day to me.

Don't wait for inspiration. It comes while one is working.

I am not at all in favor of hard work for its own sake; many people who work very hard indeed produce terrible things, and should most certainly not be encouraged.

I really like to work a lot. It makes time go by fast.

I write pretty fast, probably faster than most people. But I might think about something for six hours, then write it in 20 minutes. So did I write for six hours and 20 minutes, or just 20 minutes? I used to write absolutely every day, except for days when I had to travel or something.

The main thing about writing is... writing. Sitting your butt down in the chair and doing the work.

I like to work - I probably work too much.

When I'm working on a novel, I work 70-hour weeks.

When things aren't working out, we have a tendency to say, 'Go do other things,' but you shouldn't do other things. You need to stay at your desk and continue to try to write. You need to insist on it.

I don't take off as many days as most other producers and songwriters, so I'm working every single day, and I do songs every day. So it's just about finding time, scheduling, getting in and cutting the records. I make it happen and that's the name of the game. It's no excuses - you gotta figure it out.

I spent two months on the first draft, working 8 hours a day, five days a week.

I look back on our productivity in the 'Mr. Show' days, and think, 'We probably could have worked harder.'

I would teach from nine to four, sleep an hour, and write from six until midnight, night after night.

Beethoven, Wagner, Bach, and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand. They didn't waste time waiting for inspiration.

Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.

I don't work with inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs. I just get to work.

I'm not a person who would get up at 5 A.M. to write, but I could sacrifice my Friday night and just order in dinner, sit at home and get into it.

The sum of wisdom is that time is never lost that is devoted to work.

Long hours don't necessarily mean success.

I would work until I got stuck, and I would put it down and pick up something else. I might be able to take a 20-minute nap and get to work again. That way, I was able to work about 10 hours a day... It was important to me to work every day. I managed to work on Christmas day, just to be able to say I worked 365 days a year.

I just write from dawn to dusk.