8 Actions that will Infuriate the Writer in your Life

Royalty Free Image (Bing)
1. When you get home early from work, don't go bouncing into her study while she is writing and ask if dinner is on. She's had a hard day creating wonderful prose - get the dinner on yourself.

2. Don't interrupt her if you see her sitting with a faraway look in her eyes and biting on her pencil, She has just had a mind-blowing insight about her central protagonist. Those amazing, wonderful insights can scuttle right into the darkest depths of the mind never to be recalled if they are interrupted at a sensitive juncture. Be warned. Shut your mouth and make yourself scarce.

3.Don't insist on reading her early drafts. Writers are sensitive about notes that are not yet edited and polished. She may want your advice - if she truly trusts you - and you should be honoured if this is the case. Otherwise wait until she offers.

4.Don't be cross if she creeps out of bed in the middle of the night to go fix something in her current novel which has to be done this very moment. She can't help it.

5.Don't think that what she writes is all about "her." She does not have murderous thoughts (that is providing she is not interrupted at the wrong time) nor is she a serial adulterer. Those notorious steamy sex scenes are not personal history. Writers, you see  are great observers of all of human nature and can empathise without personally experiencing what they write. She will still remain the warm and affectionate human being you fell in love with.

6.Never tell her that her hair is a mess while she is writing. Never, never, never.

7. Don't hold back on support. Presents of notebooks with attractive covers and good quality HB pencils will be well-received, and if you can, take a course in computer programming and problem-fixing so that when the wretched thing breaks down in the middle of a crucial chapter, you can repair it for her. She needs to concentrate on her writing, not worry about petty nerdy stuff. That's what you are for.

8. Don't spare the celebrations when she finishes her novel. Go to the book signing. Show her you think it's a magnificent achievement, which it is. Buy her champagne and flowers and chocolate. Especially chocolate. She will love you for it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fifteen Women Philosophers

Image
Follow the link to access my latest book, Fifteen Women Philosophers you should have learned about at school (but probably didn't)  http://www.amazon.com/Fifteen-Philosophers-should-learned-school-ebook/dp/B00MR8OSS8#reader_B00MR8OSS8 Review by Sarah Barton: In her book Ms Cameron gives us interesting insights into the lives of women philosphers of bygone eras who were only too aware of the injustices of living in a world dominated by men. Thinkers like de Gournay and Wollstonecraft were early feminists, demanding that women should have access to education and equality. Wollstonecraft even stated that if men were treated as demi-gods then the inequality would result in women becoming 'cunning, mean and selfish'. Ms Cameron combines a brief biography of each of her candidates with a summary and an analysis of the main thrusts of their arguments, making us wish for more so it is excellent that there is a useful bibliography at the end.  The work of some of these women
Read more

Political Uses of Literature - Italo Calvino on Hidden Motives

Image
Publi Domain Italo Calvino (1923-1985) was born in Cuba and grew up in San Remo, Italy. He fought for the Italian Resistance in WW2 from 1943-1945. In " Right and Wrong Political Uses of Literature ," Calvino begins by describing the difficulties for writers in being heard, since even the most sensational and explosive writing can fail to impact on readers, "All is as nothing, like the sound of the wind." Words pose no danger to writer or reader, and those of the poet or writer tend to be swallowed up - unless and until the work is persecuted. When this happens, the true power of literature is disclosed, a challenge to authority. The persecution of literature has a knock-on effect. Whenever writers are persecuted, there must already be restraints on discussion and political thought. Fiction and poetry can fulfil the important role of giving a voice to those deprived on one. Two Wrong Ways of Thinking About the Use of Politics in Literature Calvino pos
Read more

Jennifer Young - Role Model for Aspiring Romantic Thriller Writers

Image
Have you always seen yourself as a "writer" and created stories and non-fiction from an early age, or is there something that happened to inspire you to put pen to paper? Jennifer Young: I resisted the description “writer” for years and still do at one level. I have never seen myself as a writer but as someone who writes. You don’t call someone who breathes or eats a “breather” or an “eater”, and writing is just something I do. And yes — I’ve written, or thought about writing, for as long as I can remember. And that’s a loooong time! 2. You write both fiction and non-fiction, but which do you prefer?   Jennifer Young : Fiction. Don’t get me wrong — I love writing non-fiction (for those who might be interested, I’m a science writer and I specialise in Earth science) but fiction sets you free in a way that non-fiction doesn’t. My scientific background has taught me that you should check your facts, be accurate, go back to the source material. In fiction, a
Read more