The lights are dim at Tipsy McStagger’s bar on a Tuesday night. The usual drunken rabble abounds throughout the small hole in the wall bar. An amalgamation of writers sits at a dusty round table in a desolate back corner of the small town watering hole, discussing principles of their authorizations. Shooting back and forth in half-slurred arguments somewhat pertaining to the issues at hand. Each of their own unique esteem, these people of letters have appraised writings on various subjects, which will come to play in upcoming events. Maria Popova discourses various authors routines, often quoting them to some extent (http://www.brainpickings.org/2012/11/20/daily-routines-writers/). Anne Lamott composed Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life which goes into detail various writing processes, and finally Ray Bradburry who wrote Zen in the Art of Writing , which helps stressed out when it comes to writing. That’s when I walked up.
Ben: Do you three mind if I join you, I’m in the middle of writing a series of papers centered on the writing process and I could use some advice.
Maria: The desk in the room, near the bed, with a good light, midnight till dawn, a drink when you get tired, preferably at home, but if you have no home, make a home out of your hotel room or motel room or pad: peace.(Jack Kerouac)
Ben: Excuse me?
Maria laughs, stands up, and heads off to grab another drink.
Ray: You stumble into it, mostly. You don't know what you're doing, and suddenly, it's done.
Ben: Uhm, well I think there’s more to it than that, that’s rather ambiguous.
Ray: It evolves out of your own life and night scares.
Ben: Well what is it!?
Anne raises her head from her glass, smirking.
Anne: The first useful concept is the idea of short assignments.
She sips on the drink.
Anne: Often when you sit down to write, *hic*, what you have in mind is an autobiographical about your childhood, or a play about the immigrant experience, or a history of -oh,shay- say women.
Maria comes back to her seat holding four glasses of Jameson and plops one in front of me.
Maria: To quote Shusan Shontang, “I write in spurts. I write when I have to because the pressure builds up and I feel enough confidence that something has matured in my head and I can write it down”.
Ben gulps down his the rest of his glass.
Ben: Okay, so what I’m gathering from this is that, you guys are saying I should start small, and to find a place that's comfortable to me? So far I’ve been thinking about whole storylines, I think starting smaller might help me be able to concentrate more.
Ray: I wrote at least a thousand words a day every day from the age of twelve on, but hey man.
Maria, now with her head down, raises an arm with her finger pointing up.
Maria: Maya Angelou once said, “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…*hic...But the editing, one’s own editing, before the editor sees it, is the most important.”
Ben: Like proofreading?
Anne: Now, practically even better news than that of the short assignments is the idea of shitty first drafts. All good writers write them.
The table shares a collective, drunkenly laugh.
Anne: Now, I’ve been wrong before, but I’d bet you anything that this guy never shows his work to other writers before trying to get someone to buy it. I bet he thinks he’s above that.
Ben flares up red, but quickly laughs it off.
Ben: Yeah well, maybe you’re right. I’ve never been someone to rely on others like that, I like to think that I’m a good judge of my own work.
Ray: I leave you now at the bottom of your own stair, at half after midnight, with a pad, a pen, and a list to be made. Conjure the nouns, alert the secret self, taste the darkness.
Ben shakes his head, laughs, looks at the time, and stands up.
Ben: Well this has certainly been an enlightening experience. You’ve all given me tidbits of tips. But There was something deeper to what you all had said. I’ll take that to heart as i continue my writing processes.
Ben leaves the bar, the authors go back to their rabble, the drunks keep drinking. It was like he’d never been inside that bar. Such a small mark left on the world, but in him inspiration began to grow, guiding him on this journey, for better , or worse.
Ben: Do you three mind if I join you, I’m in the middle of writing a series of papers centered on the writing process and I could use some advice.
Maria: The desk in the room, near the bed, with a good light, midnight till dawn, a drink when you get tired, preferably at home, but if you have no home, make a home out of your hotel room or motel room or pad: peace.(Jack Kerouac)
Ben: Excuse me?
Maria laughs, stands up, and heads off to grab another drink.
Ray: You stumble into it, mostly. You don't know what you're doing, and suddenly, it's done.
Ben: Uhm, well I think there’s more to it than that, that’s rather ambiguous.
Ray: It evolves out of your own life and night scares.
Ben: Well what is it!?
Anne raises her head from her glass, smirking.
Anne: The first useful concept is the idea of short assignments.
She sips on the drink.
Anne: Often when you sit down to write, *hic*, what you have in mind is an autobiographical about your childhood, or a play about the immigrant experience, or a history of -oh,shay- say women.
Maria comes back to her seat holding four glasses of Jameson and plops one in front of me.
Maria: To quote Shusan Shontang, “I write in spurts. I write when I have to because the pressure builds up and I feel enough confidence that something has matured in my head and I can write it down”.
Ben gulps down his the rest of his glass.
Ben: Okay, so what I’m gathering from this is that, you guys are saying I should start small, and to find a place that's comfortable to me? So far I’ve been thinking about whole storylines, I think starting smaller might help me be able to concentrate more.
Ray: I wrote at least a thousand words a day every day from the age of twelve on, but hey man.
Maria, now with her head down, raises an arm with her finger pointing up.
Maria: Maya Angelou once said, “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…*hic...But the editing, one’s own editing, before the editor sees it, is the most important.”
Ben: Like proofreading?
Anne: Now, practically even better news than that of the short assignments is the idea of shitty first drafts. All good writers write them.
The table shares a collective, drunkenly laugh.
Anne: Now, I’ve been wrong before, but I’d bet you anything that this guy never shows his work to other writers before trying to get someone to buy it. I bet he thinks he’s above that.
Ben flares up red, but quickly laughs it off.
Ben: Yeah well, maybe you’re right. I’ve never been someone to rely on others like that, I like to think that I’m a good judge of my own work.
Ray: I leave you now at the bottom of your own stair, at half after midnight, with a pad, a pen, and a list to be made. Conjure the nouns, alert the secret self, taste the darkness.
Ben shakes his head, laughs, looks at the time, and stands up.
Ben: Well this has certainly been an enlightening experience. You’ve all given me tidbits of tips. But There was something deeper to what you all had said. I’ll take that to heart as i continue my writing processes.
Ben leaves the bar, the authors go back to their rabble, the drunks keep drinking. It was like he’d never been inside that bar. Such a small mark left on the world, but in him inspiration began to grow, guiding him on this journey, for better , or worse.