Writing is like every sport. While you may not think of it as such, you are competing with not only the writers who skated to publication with shiny advances, but all the writers who are out there seeking sale and celebrity just like you. And it’s crowded out here in the ranks of the unsung. I sometimes wonder if I spend as much time publicity hunting than plotting my story lines. When you are an indie writer/publisher, you are lucky if you find a marketing person who is creative and knowledgeable about driving your book to the right readers. I am very lucky in that regard.
But back to the mind-breaking tasks of creating your work. I checked on athletic pregame rituals to determine if any translated to inspiring creativity in our own craft of writing. I read that one of the pregame preps in major league baseball is peeing on your hands before a game – which supposedly makes gripping the bat more effective. This girl is not gonna even. Ick. Don’t care if it could generate the next NY Times bestseller.
Our premier Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, listens to the Black-Eyed Peas belt “Boom, Boom, Pow” before each race. Soccer striker Lionel Messi kisses the rosary. Michael Jordan wore his UNC shorts under his Bulls’ uniform. Serena Williams has a shoelace ritual prior to stepping on the court. The incredible 49ers’ TE, George Kittle, gets a letter from his dad prior to each game.
None of my research from the sporting world appealed. None of it seemed applicable to igniting a spark in a storytellers imagination. From there, I wondered how some 0f the most famous authors summoned their muse. Here’s what I found.
There must be magic in apples since several of our most successful authors incorporated them into their inspirational moments before putting words on paper. The inventive Agatha Christie spent work time in the tub, munching apples and lining the tub rim with spent cores. However, she did not offer suggestions for restoration of pruney skin after. And Friedrich Schiller, an oldie, but goodie, kept a desk drawer of rotten apples for those moments when he feared an attack of writer’s block. He’d open that drawer, according to his buddy, Goethe, and snort that sweet aroma of decay. His wife was said to have commented, “He could not live or work without it.’
Jump to our more modern writers. Truman Capote never began a new work on a Friday and while he was a chain smoker, he allowed only three butts in his ashtray (he stashed the overflow in his pockets). Jack Kerouac fueled his On The Road narratives with coffee and benzedrine. And one of my personal favorite authors, Dan Brown, straps on gravity boots and hangs like a bat to relax and get the bestseller juices flowing.
After perusing all these head-jolting, plot inducing, character building exercises, I find my routine of hard-core caffeine gulping and belting fave tunes (courtesy of YouTube) with the likes of Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar pretty tame. I say whatever conjures that mysterious sorcery of storytelling that works for you, go with it, baby. Whatever floats the boat!