Do rituals get you to a writing, or otherwise productive, frame of mind? You’re not alone. Today’s post looks at the quirky ways some famous writers began their books. How they faced their blank page and ‘got into’ a writing rhythm to get the job done.
A little book of bigtime author secrets
After reading a book I bought years ago at a fundraising table in the foyer of the YWCA on Hornby, I began to share some of my own quirky starters and writing sparks. The book, which is still in my library, is called “Secret Lives of Great Authors.” It’s a fun, gossipy read. It was more thrilling to me than People Magazine of the day. Fittingly, I was there for the Y pool, where other local writers I knew also swam between drafts of their work to balance all our hours at a desk.
After you conquer the “Blank Page” our next practical focus is how to actually begin a written piece –with impact. “Call me Ishmael”. Well, still Helena here sharing the journey of applying writing skills to sorting out the last, hopefully long, act of my life. But you know that’s how Herman Melville drew us into … Read more
Ta·bu·la ra·sa. A Latin term for the idea that humans are born as a “blank or clean slate” with no innate knowledge. We learn from life experience as we grow. Plausible?
Well, as writers do, I checked with Merriam-Webster and found a nuanced alternate definition. Their tabula rasa meant “smooth or erased tablet”. Still, it refers to the mind in its original state before outside influences. Do you believe there is a uniform original state that is blank for each of us as we enter this world?
Is there a totally blank page in writing, and in life?
Well, as writers do, I checked with Merriam-Webster and found a nuanced alternate definition. Their ta