Have you
ever wondered about the routines of some of the world’s most famous writers? Here
are some snippets... (you can read the full article HERE)
Ray
Bradbury: “My
passions drive me to the typewriter every day of my life, and they have driven
me there since I was twelve. So I never have to worry about schedules. Some new
thing is always exploding in me, and it schedules me, I don’t schedule it. It
says: Get to the typewriter right now and finish this.”
E.B White: “I never listen to music when I’m
working. I haven’t that kind of attentiveness, and I wouldn’t like it at all.
On the other hand, I’m able to work fairly well among ordinary distractions. My
house has a living room that is at the core of everything that goes on: it is a
passageway to the cellar, to the kitchen, to the closet where the phone lives.
There’s a lot of traffic..."
Haruki
Murakami : “When I’m
in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six
hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10km or swim for 1500m (or do both), then I
read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9:00 pm. I keep to this
routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the
important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper
state of mind.”
Ernest
Hemingway: “When I
am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light
as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come
to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you
always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there.
You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know
what will happen next and you stop...”
Maya
Angelou: “I write in
the morning and then go home about midday and take a shower, because writing,
as you know, is very hard work, so you have to do a double ablution. Then I go
out and shop — I’m a serious cook — and pretend to be normal. I play sane —
Good morning! Fine, thank you. And you? And I go home. I prepare dinner for
myself and if I have houseguests, I do the candles and the pretty music and all
that. Then after all the dishes are moved away I read what I wrote that morning...”
What does
your writing process involve?
Not anywhere near to these writers. But I do write a poem a day every night! Thanks for sharing Michelle!
ReplyDeleteHank
http://imagery77.blogspot.com/2014/04/yonder-distance-far-away.html
Unfortunately I haven't done it lately but I find my creative writing projects do best when I start them out in the early morning.
ReplyDeleteLittleCely's Blog
I don't have anything resembling a schedule, but do need to put one in place. For the next month, I'll have to keep up the pace with 2 projects, so I better get one in place. Fast.
ReplyDeleteMusic is distracting for me too, but the television somehow isn't.
Pretend to be normal - LOL!
ReplyDeleteE.B. White is the person who resonated with me. I can't have music in the background yet love being in the center of the house. Crazy but true.
ReplyDeleteElsie
AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge
When I'm writing, it's every single evening. Always with music though.
ReplyDeleteI don't listen to music when I write. Some noise doesn't bother me - white noise, like traffic or the washing machine, is fine. Nearby conversations are too distracting - I end up eavesdropping instead. :)
ReplyDeletesometimes music is nothing but distraction to me when writing, I prefer it when daydreaming a scene. And if I'm really busy or pretty slow on a manuscript I force myself to writing one line a day (it works like magic!) I also make sure to stop in mid sentence so I have something to write when I come back instead of burning myself up then staring at the blank page :)
ReplyDeleteI'd be scared if writing was my full time job. I'd really have to drag my carcass off the couch and get disciplined, then. ;)
ReplyDeleteI can relate with E.B White when it comes to music. I've never thought about other distractions though.
ReplyDeleteLike E.B White, even I cant listen to music while I am writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the Hemmingway camp. Early writing. No distractions. I'm pretty much face down on the pillow by 10PM.
ReplyDeleteOk I do not consider myself a writer and i find it interesting that they all write in the morning. I do my best work in the morning though. I get up, feed all the animals, then myself, watch a little TV to get my joints moving and then I start my day
ReplyDeleteHey Michelle,
ReplyDeleteNever mind all those quoted folks. My writing process involves getting all the help I can get from Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar!
After she goes outside and has a ceremonial crap, she comes back inside and inspires my writing. Such a good dog.
Gary :)
A schedule is very important, but it doesn't matter what it is ... as long as you stick to it. This A to Z Challenge is helpful in itself to build a daily writing habit!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Visiting via A to Z from Pass the Sour Cream. Co-Author (with my sons) of The Secret of Kite Hill.
I wish I was in a position for a routine. I write when I can grab a minute!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was writing, my routine would be as follows:
ReplyDelete1} turn on computer.
2} play one game of spider solitaire.
3} open up w.i.p.
4} print out whatever I wrote for future editing.
5} stare at the screen until the plot comes back to me, then verify by reading the last four or five pages to make sure I'm heading in the right direction. Nothing worse than writing a bunch of paragraphs/pages only to find out afterwards that you went off on completely different tangent/voice.
Father Nature's Corner
I have found that despite being home during the day, I still do most of my writing in the evening.
ReplyDeleteIf only I had half the discipline of these pros. Many women have far more distractions than writers such as Hemingway. I love him to bits, but he left the domestic tasks to his women.
ReplyDeleteI do my chores in the morning and don't usually sit down until 9 am. Then there's blog hopping and comments. I try to get that done in an hour. It's not always easy. I take lots of breaks, but some days I just sit and stare at the monitor.
ReplyDeleteI do my chores in the morning and don't usually sit down until 9 am. Then there's blog hopping and comments. I try to get that done in an hour. It's not always easy. I take lots of breaks, but some days I just sit and stare at the monitor.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting these. I have them now on my PC to read whenever I need inspiration...
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle - I need to be more disciplined now May is here .. a few things to sort out and then settle into some routine format .. I can easily spend too long blogging .. but great friends around .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDelete