by Linda Rodriguez
One
of the best books on actually living a writer’s life is Making a
Literary Life by Carolyn See. I often give it as a gift to
serious aspiring writers I know. Carolyn is herself an award-winning
novelist, and her advice is pretty solid. (I have come to feel as if
she is my friend from reading her novels and this book again and
again, but though I’m on first-name basis with her here, I never actually met Carolyn See while she was alive.)
First,
she tells us to write 1,000 words a day every day. Blam! Just like
that! Right at the beginning! But she says they don’t have to be
finished words—they don’t even have to be good words. We just
have to put down 1,000 words every day. And of course, it
works—because no one will be able to keep slapping random words on
the page. We start to make sense, and then we start to make story.
So, her rule number one is write 1,000 words each and every day.
Carolyn’s
next rule will prompt groans from everyone. She talks about the need
to build a writing community and to get involved in the writing
community that already exists. So she wants us all to write a
charming note each day to a different writer or editor or agent or
reading series administrator, expressing our genuine appreciation for
something they’ve done or written. I suspect this will be the
biggest stumbling block among her rules for living the writing life,
even though I’ve come to see the sense of it. (I must admit I don’t
follow this rule very often, though, being no better than any of the
rest of us.)
The
rules continue throughout this informal and witty book, and they are
all good rules. When I abide by them, I am in better shape than when
I don’t. This I know. However, it’s another part of the book that
I want to talk about here.
Carolyn
makes a great case for visualizing the career and life we want to
live as writers. She talks about well-known writers who have
entourages, chauffeurs, phalanxes of attractive bodyguards, or
dramatic capes and trench coats. She makes a persuasive case that
each of these successful writers had at some time in the past
decided, consciously or unconsciously, that when they were successful
they would have—entourages/ chauffeurs/ bodyguards/ trench coats.
Carolyn
encourages us to consciously visualize the successful writer’s life
we want to have in the future in detail, including what we’ll wear,
if that’s important to us, what friends we’ll have, where we’ll
live, and more. That kind of visualization is important, I think. If
we don’t put some thought into what we want, how will we know when
we’ve achieved it? She encourages us to go into detail because some
of the details are easier to achieve than others. It’s very tough
to make the New
York Times bestseller
list, but it’s not so hard to save up for a splashy cape or
dramatic trench coat.
So
my question to all of you today, as well as to myself, is what would
your life look like if you achieved the kind of writer’s success
that you long to have?
I’m
not into splashy capes or trench coats or matched pairs of
bodyguards, but I think a chauffeur might be a nice achievement,
especially on regular professional visits to New York City (which are
very much a part of my visualization). Actually, I think I’ve
already achieved this.
On
my last trip to NYC to meet with my editor and attend a poetry award
ceremony, I found a livery car service that took us all over the city
at all hours and for less than a cab would have cost. After the
post-award-ceremony bash, native New Yorkers in our party were
futilely trying to gain the attention of cabs outside the restaurant
while one phone call brought our driver to pick us up in front and
take us across town to our B&B.
What
would you visualize for your life as a successful writer? Inquiring
minds want to know!
