by Stephanie Morrill
I have always been fascinated by writers and their routines and how they split up their time. I don’t expect to unlock some trinket of time management that will magically fix my frustrations (though that would be nice), but I’m intrigued by the seemingly endless ways there are to go about spending your time as a novelist.
This is a link to an article that talks about various writing routines of famous authors like Maya Angelou, Ray Bradbury, and Jack Kerouac.
I was fascinated by this quote in Ray Bradbury’s interview. He says:
“I can work anywhere. I wrote in bedrooms and living rooms when I was growing up with my parents and my brother in a small house in Los Angeles. I worked on my typewriter in the living room, with the radio and my mother and dad and brother all talking at the same time.”
He was a teen writer! Just like many of you carry your notepads or laptops around the house, he was doing the same thing with his typewriter. I find that thrilling to think about.
A few of the others worked through chaos as well, including E.B. White:
“…the members of my household never pay the slightest attention to my being a writing man—they make all the noise and fuss they want to. If I get sick of it, I have places I can go. A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”
Isn’t that so true? I could always find something else to do besides write, especially now that I have marketing responsibilities on my shoulders. When I get to write, it’s because I’m making the choice to protect it, and to respect my dream enough to fight for it.
hat was one of the key themes Jill and I ended up with for the Go Teen Writers book that’ll be releasing this March. That writers who succeed do so because they respected their dream and didn’t wait for ideal conditions.
What’s something you’re doing to respect your writing time? And do you write better in chaos or quiet?
And don’t forget your writing contest entries are due on Monday!