David asked Stephen Gallup:

Steve, I see you working hard on the job and I know you put a lot of work both into your book and into your family. Where do you find the time? And how much do you sleep, anyway? ;)

Stephen Gallup David, it's unlikely that I am any busier than the next person. For one thing, a lot of what I probably ought to be doing doesn't get done! Also, much of what I do in terms of writing occurs only when the stars align/inspiration strikes, which is part of the reason I spent more than a decade putting WATB together, and then more years burnishing it (putting in commas and then taking them out again -- that sort of thing). To learn a really productive writer's secrets, maybe we should both contact Joyce Carol Oates. The only personal trait that frees up time is avoiding television. Once in a blue moon I watch something on DVD but several years have passed since I gave any time to the networks. Of course, it’s possible to waste just as much time "staring at a computer screen" (my daughter’s perception of what I do), so turning off the tube in itself may not be enough…

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