 Benchley only began writing once his agent reminded him that if he did not deliver the pages, he would have to return the already cashed and spent money. The hastily written pages were met with derision by Congdon, who did not like Benchley's attempt at making the book comedic. Congdon only approved the first five pages, which went into the eventual book without any changes, and asked Benchley to follow the tone of that introduction. After a month, Benchley delivered rewritten chapters, and which Congdon approved, alongside a broader outline of the story. The manuscript took a year and a half to complete. During this time, Benchley worked in his makeshift office above a furnace company in Pennington, New Jersey during the winter, and in a converted turkey coop in the seaside property of his wife's family in Stonington, Connecticut during the summer. Congdon dictated further changes from the rest of the book, including a sex scene between Brody and his wife which was changed to Ellen and Hooper. Congdon did not feel that there was "any place for this wholesome marital sex in this kind of book". After various revisions and rewrites, alongside sporadic payments of the advance, Benchley delivered his final draft in January 1973.
