100 books to read in a lifetime

Do you love lists? I do, so when this one showed up in my email today from Amazon, I had fun reading through all the titles. I sorted them into three groups: 1) have read, 2) don’t want to read, and 3) ones I need to put on reserve at the library (probably not what Amazon had in mind!).

Overall, I think it’s a good list: check it out!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/b/ref=pe_253370_112577030_pe_stripe/?node=8192263011

How many have you read?

Write soon,

Mary

What are you wearing?

When I was working full time and going to night school, I had a writing routine. After work and dinner, I would go into the computer room, put on my writing sweater, and get to work.

For me, putting on the sweater represented a change in my day, and signaled that it was time to write. That sweater worked like putting on a uniform for a job, or the blue clogs I wear to cut the grass in the summer. Wearing it helped prepare me mentally for the task at hand, signaling that it was time to change gears and get to work.

I have a video about my sweater because I taped myself talking about it for a class project. I remember putting on the sweater for my imaginary audience like I was some sort of Mr. Rogers. It’s not a cardigan, but a pullover that was a bit too big and featured gray, black, and white geometric squares woven into some sort of plaid. It may or may not have been wool, but I do remember that it was warm and a little scratchy so I always wore a shirt underneath. I loved that sweater. I bought it many years ago from the clearance rack at The Gap for about $8. I credit that sweater for helping me through graduate school.

I wrote three of my favorite stories while wearing that sweater: “The Poet,” “Masterpiece,” and “The Hitch.” I think I should try to find that sweater. Maybe it will help me get back in the habit of writing regularly.

What color is your writing sweater? Or do you have some other piece of clothing or good luck charm that gets you in the chair and writing?

Write soon, (wearing whatever works for you!)

Mary

Demanding writer friends?

My last post featured jealousy among writers, so now let’s discuss friendship. It may not be my favorite, but “A Moveable Feast” by Ernest Hemingway is a book I have returned to several times through the years. I like reading about the relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald because it’s fun to peek into the lives of these two famous and talented men and examine their personalities through their habits and insecurities. Here’s a link to the scene of their first forgettable (to Fitzgerald) meeting:

http://ernestmillerhemingway.blogspot.com/2012/04/ernest-hemingway-and-fscott-fitzgerald.html

Do you have demanding writer friends? Do you deal with them by drinking, like these two? If not, tell me which methods serve you well.

Write soon,

Mary

Are you jealous of other writers?

Let’s face it, we all have our moments of pettiness, but have you ever done something sneaky to keep someone you know from becoming more successful than you? Hopefully not, but one man’s powerful jealousy probably caused some tense moments at holiday dinners.

Daniel Bernoulli, an 18^th Century Swiss mathematician, published a book titled “Hydrodynamica” in 1738. According to The History Channel, Bernoulli’s father, Johann, because so jealous after his son published his book that the father wrote his own book on hydraulics and predated it in a futile attempt to take credit for his son’s findings.

That’s pretty sneaky.

Write soon,

Mary

What should you be doing?

How many times have you said to yourself, “I should be doing … “

A)     Something productive

B)     Something lucrative

C)     Something else

If you’re like me, you’ve said it many times. But what if there is no such thing as “should?” What happens when you realize it’s meaningless? Well, either you do what you need to or you don’t, but getting hung up on “should” is a waste of time.

So ride out the end of the year without guilt or shame or embarrassment about what you “should” be doing. Enjoy the moment, and if you write something wonderful, that’s great. And if you don’t open a document between now and Jan 6, remember that guilt is a wasted emotion, so save it for your characters.

Write soon, (but don’t beat yourself up about it if you don’t)

Mary

P.S. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Writer's Digest Book Clearance (Ends tonight!)

For all my writer friends, Writer's Digest books on clearance - sale ends tonight!

http://www.writersdigestshop.com/discount-writing-books-supplies

Write soon,

Mary

Tattoo You

Are you into ink? As a writer, is there any image that you would place permanently on your skin, like the head of Ernest Hemingway, or a lucky pen? How about your first acceptance letter or the logo of your favorite writing magazine?

Perhaps recreating the label from a bottle of wine would be a more fitting tribute. According to the June 2013 issue of Mental Floss, Dorothy Parker had a small star inked near her elbow as a “memento of a drunken night in the 1930s.” I only hope she wrote about it!

Write soon,

Mary