New Year advice for the writer from Muriel Spark–I realize I have a head start!
Happy and productive New Year à tout le monde!
And–as they say here in France–surtout Bonne Santé—above all, good health!
There was a piece in The Guardian yesterday puffing a new book of hints on writing by well-known authors.
It caught my eye, because I’ve been feeling the need of bit of a push to get started again.
Four days into 2018 seems as good a time as any to re-launch with this my 700th post—spurred on by advice from Muriel Spark:
GET A CAT
If you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially on some piece of writing or paper-work, you should acquire a cat.
Alone with the cat in the room where you work….The cat will invariably get up on your desk and settle under the desk lamp.
The light from a lamp…gives the cat great satisfaction. The cat will settle down and be serene, with a serenity that passes all understanding.
And the tranquillity of the cat will gradually come to affect you, sitting there at your desk, so that all the excitable qualities that impeded your concentration compose themselves and give your mind back the self-command it has lost.
You need not watch the cat all the time. Its presence alone is enough. The effect of a cat on your concentration is remarkable, and very mysterious.
Ben, our mercurial black-as-black-can-be cat, has taken to snoozing on some papers to my left on the desk.
Nothing much disturbs him, as Ms Spark observes, and he is a reassuring, friendly presence.
So I realise I’m ahead of the game. I already have a cat and replacements if–heaven forbid–I should need them.
No excuse then.
To paraphrase John Cleese’s less-than-polite encouragement to the diners at Fawlty Towers Hotel: Get on with your writing!
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Just checking!
Wish me luck!
Filed under: other sides to this life
