An original bad boy of American literature, Thomas McGuane, (Ninety Two in the Shade, The Missouri Breaks) tells us that these days he writes in bed. He’s in his seventies now and as a successful novelist is past caring what anyone thinks of his practice.
The admission raises the question: where do we do we write?
McGuane doesn’t leave it long after waking (but not before having a coffee) to start work. He says that being quick off the mark in the morning helps him tap into his alpha-brain waves – those subconscious mind waves that give his work depth.
Every writer is different. I’m a morning person. By nightfall, I’m ready for dinner and a ridiculous show on TV, like The Big Bang Theory. Others might only come alive by dusk, and then write into the night. Each to her own.
The important thing is to recognize what suits. Suiting our writing-selves is half the battle.
If creativity flows first thing in the morning, take a leaf out of McGuane’s book (so to speak) and get those ideas down straight away. He once joked to a fellow writer that he felt guilty for writing in bed. “That’s why we chose this profession, isn’t it?” she quipped. “So we wouldn’t have to get out of bed?”
These days, McGuane is having a second shot at his career. Life, he says, becomes more complicated as you get older. I think maybe it’s always been complicated. But a regular practice helps one focus and simplify things.
Most authors believe that having a routine is everything. I’ve noted before that my own writing space has moved from an office, to the bed, to our local coffee shop, and to who-knows-where next. The other half of finding our right-feeling space is to establish a self-suiting schedule. Other than that, like McGuane, let’s just relax and enjoy doing our work.
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WRITINGS AND MUSINGS OF MARGARET MCCAFFREY 