Filed under Life and stuff
Beckie wrote about when she writes, which got me thinking about where I write.
I’m writing this blog post at the hairdresser. I have a ridiculous amount of hair (think Witch Hazel of Bugs Bunny fame) that was gray before I hit thirty. At forty, a swathe of sidewalk-gray roots is visible every 3 weeks. My point being, I spend a lot of time – not to mention money – at my salon.
The upshot of this is that the hairdresser’s chair affords me the opportunity to write, uninterrupted, for almost an hour (as long as I can resist the siren song of People and Vanity Fair).
Being in such a public yet confined space, I’m surrounded by fascinating characters and conversations – many have made their way into my writing. I know coffee shops are a haven for countless writers; one friend writes her best work in the tub; many find inspiration at pubs or lounges (note to self: must try that).
Where do you do your best writing?
Lori
Filed under Inspiration, Life and stuff, Writing ideas
What hath night to do with sleep?
~John Milton
Do your best ideas occur at night? Do you enjoy writing at the weirdest hours of the day when rationality ceases to rule?
Your ability to work (& when) is genetically encoded and cannot be erased. Scientists have long known that early and late risers have genetic differences. Our preference for early rising (an A-person or lark) and late rising (a B-person or owl) is as genetically determined as eye or hair colour. Creative people are not lazy or sinister or vampiric just because their circadian rhythm is different from most people!
I am a night writer. And I am not alone. Researchers say 10% of us are extreme owls, 10% are extreme larks and the remaining 80 % fall in between. Yet, I am a night owl in a 9 – 5 job (help!), which can present its challenges since our work culture is biased towards the rhythms of the average lark (a bit “sleepist,” yes).
I live for the day when my existence is not dictated by an alarm clock. In the meantime, in an effort to help my fellow writers of the night live comfortably in an early bird world, I offer the following.
7 Random Resources for Night Owls:
You share your Night Owl status with: Winston Churchill, Thomas Hardy, Catherine O’Hara, T.S. Eliot, Edgar Allan Poe, Keith Richards, and Elvis Presley.
Once an owl, always an owl!
Beckie
Also see Viva La B-Revolution: How to be a B-person and not get fired
Filed under Life and stuff, Writing resources
“If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow.” Louis L’Amour
If you’re a regular visitor to the Restless Writers’ blog, you’ve probably noticed some of the changes we’ve been making.
We’ve changed to an easy-to-remember URL: www.restlesswriters.ca.
We have a new email address, in case you want to reach us off-blog: restlesswriters@yahoo.com.
We’ve even posted our Twitter feeds (see right).
For me, these changes are all about making it easier to connect with visitors who want to share stories about the writing life.
If you’re visiting us, we hope you enjoy these new features.
And we hope they get your writing taps flowing.
Maria
Filed under Motivation, News
Last night my fellow Restless Writers (both child-free) e-mailed me after work asking if I’d join them for an impromptu drink. I replied that I couldn’t because…how did I put it?…oh yes – my kids were being assholes.
This is where it should be noted that I love my children (honestly!) and normally adore being with them. My family has been the main catalyst that got me writing – I finally had the time (typing while nursing is an art), endless material and, most importantly, the confidence to try. (Because let me tell you, after pushing out a ten-pounder with only half the epidural kicking in, you can do a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.)
It doesn’t diminish the fact that most parents feel that, from time to time, their precious darlings are acting a bit…well…ass’ish.
I won’t bore you with the details (grape popsicles on bedroom carpets and make-up in the toilet), but it really drove home a question that Beckie and Maria have brought up: How in the name of Huggies do mothers find the time to write?
I spent over a year writing my manuscript with a newborn and four-year-old, which sounds a bit insane. I’ve spent the three years since revising and querying my manuscript, which sounds a bit sad.
I’ve written late into the night and early in the morning (conclusion: no one can write coherently at 4:00 a.m., except maybe monks). I work from home and, with one kid at school and the other napping, I desperately try to cram a full work day into those two hours (all of this while – not to sound too Betty Draper about it – trying to cook and clean for my family). So people look at me and wonder, when do I have time to write for me and why – at this point in my life – do I even bother trying?
My world is currently filled with constant demands on my time. My attention. My effort. At this point, I can’t not write, because it’s my outlet. My indulgence. My sanity.
I look – as ever – to Judy Blume, who wrote her first book at the kitchen table while her kids were at school. I’ve also heard that Kelley Armstrong wrote Bitten during her lunch hour at work while pregnant with her second child. Even Stephen King had to retreat to the loo of his camper to find the solitude required to finish Carrie.
My point being, you find a way. You multi-task. You write because you, my fellow harried parent, are a writer.
Lori
p.s. Feel free to vent in the comments!
Filed under Inspiration, Life and stuff, Motivation
A great post landed in my Twitter account today—a must share with fellow restless writers.
From tweet to post: 21 Tips for Writers by Australian writer, Jodi Cleghorn (inspired by: Emerging Writers Festival, Melbourne) is a terrific read, and even better chuckle. Jodi believes that “writing is writing—whether you’re a song writer, a journalist, an academic, a poet, a film maker or a novelist – and there are commonalities to the creative process of writing and how to make it work for you.”
Check it out: 21 Tips for Writers
Okay, seriously I can count. This is only 10. For the remaining 11 visit Write Anything. And while you’re there, check out their weekly #fictionfriday challenge.
How can you incorporate these tips into YOUR writing life?
Beckie
Filed under Inspiration, Life and stuff
Today is the birthday of the great American poet Walt Whitman. Controversial from the moment he self-published Leaves of Grass, Whitman has been maligned as immoral, perverse, sacrilegious and decadent. But he is also praised as the poet of democracy, the father of free verse, and possibly the first Beat poet.
I like to think of him as one of the original restless writers—in addition to writing, he made a living as a typesetter, a clerk, a teacher, a journalist and a nurse. “Do I contradict myself?” he once said. “Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.
From O Me! O life!
Maria
Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.
Winston Churchill
Lori
Filed under Inspiration
Some cool book news for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn fans.
Mark Twain’s autobiography is finally going to be published 100 years after his death. The autobiography has been kept locked in a vault at the University of California at Berkeley since his death 1910. Twain’s autobiography will arrive in bookstores in November.
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
You can read more about Mark Twain here on the official website from the Estate of Mark Twain.
Beckie
Filed under Books and stuff, News
We writers have been meeting monthly for almost a year now. Our meetings can take many forms, in various locations (this month: my place), but there are certain constants: calorific snacks (I decided to test out cumin jelly and brie on baguettes); copious amounts of booze (white sangria) and tantalizing conversation that in no way relates to writing.
It’s typical coffee klatch fare – work, husbands, kids (mine) and pets (theirs…although the similarities are surprising). We do eventually get down to business, going over the pages we’ve each submitted in advance, and then the meeting is finito.
I’ve come to rely on these meetings for more than the input and suggestions provided by my partners, although they’ve proven invaluable. It’s the camaraderie, encouragement and inspiration I get from being with other writers that I value most. We all tackle different genres with diverse styles, but the end goals are the same…to be inspired… to be published…to be writers.
Working towards these aspirations while sipping sangria and eating my weight in cheese is simply a bonus.
Lori
Filed under Group meetings
Andrea
bjas
Sharon
Maria
Restless Writers 