Ian Fleming celebrated his finishing the first draft of Casino Royale by buying a gold-plated Royal typewriter, an early step toward launching the James Bond books that would make him famous. But did it help him write his novels?
Apparently not. Fleming thought the font on his golden typewriter was too small, and he seldom used it, according to Nicholas Shakespeare’s new biography, Ian Fleming: The Complete Man.
What did help him create one of the most popular fictional spies in history?
Shakespeare lists some of the elements of what Fleming called his “formula” for writing a bestseller, which included sticking a writing schedule of three hours each morning and one hour a night and permitting no interruptions. He also wrote fast and didn’t reread and revise his work until he’d reached the last page. Interested in his other methods? I say more about Fleming’s strategies–and his advice to others who want to write thrillers–in my latest story on @Medium.
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