Chocolate as an essential writing tool
I have not read a single book on the craft of writing which has mentioned the benefits of chocolate as a tool essential for writing and writers except one who mentioned it in an interview and only then in passing.
I think there is a niche market there just waiting to be exploited.
Some working titles for books about chocolate and writing:
- How chocolate can improve your writing (a book for beginners)
- The age of chocolate (for historical fiction writers)
- Hand over the chocolate and no-one will get hurt (for crime writers)
- Zen and the art of eating chocolate while writing your novel (for novelist bikies)
- The elements of chocolate and your writing style (to help with your grammar)
- Fiction and the art of choosing chocolate (for fiction writers)
- Chocolate and inspiration (for religious writers)
- Dark chocolate (for horror/gothic writers)
- Choc Wars (for SF writers)
- Star Choc (for SF television series writers)
- N.C.I.S. Down Under (N.C.I.S. = No Chocolate Is Safe) (a manual for writers of the proposed television series)
- Chocbusters (for those writers about debunking the myths about chocolate)
If you have any other suggestions please leave them in the comments section.
Do, or do not.
Today’s quote:
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Fact: Many people would like to write a book.
Fact: Few people actually start writing a book.
Fact: Very few people actually finish writing a book.
Fact: Of those that finish writing a book, very few get published.
Like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, people have a go. They try to write a book, not realising the long journey on which they have embarked. When the going gets tough, they give up. So many give up so easily.
You cannot “try” to write a book. You must do it, or not. If you don’t have the persistence, don’t even start.
Harsh words, yes, but that is the reality.
Good writing.
Further reading:
Book review: “Bird by bird” by Anne Lamott
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I bought this book some time ago but only recently finished reading it. I had read about it in many other books about writing. Everyone raved about how wonderful the book was and so I thought I’d treat myself.
I must say that, as a book about writing, it disappointed me at first. I guess I was looking for another guide book about writing, giving step by step instructions on how to write a novel, or a short story or whatever. This book is not like that. It is not something one can read from cover to cover and come away knowing everything there is about writing.
Instead, it is the kind of book that creeps in under your guard, sneaking into your pores and inhabiting your inner writer. The sub-title is very revealing: “Some instructions for writing and life.” Ah, so it’s about more than merely being a writer. Anne Lamott uses a broad brush and paints a wonderful, yet challenging, picture of the writer’s life and how life experiences can and must impact the writing.
I enjoyed reading this entertaining book, but it left me with a suspicious mind. I suspect I’ll get far more out of it on a second and subsequent readings.
Reference:
- Lamott, Anne 1995, Bird by bird: some instructions on writing and life. Random House, Anchor Books, New York.
Imagine it and make it happen
Today’s quote about writing:
“All the things we achieve are things we have first imagined and then made happen.”
David Malouf, Australian writer
Imagination is a powerful, essential, elemental, almost organic tool of the writer. It is the driving force behind all writers, especially writers of fiction. Without our imagination our stories cannot take shape, the characters cannot come to life and the plot limps along until either the reader or the writer give it up as a hopeless cause.
But when the writer calls upon an active imagination, the story can soar to wonderful heights, the characters can develop vibrant, energetic lives and the plot grabs the attention of the writer demanding to be written. And when this happens the readers are carried along in that imaginary world of delights and the book cannot be put down. Hopefully it also sells many copies via word of mouth too.
But I wonder if David Malouf was actually thinking along these lines?
Was he instead thinking about dreams and goal setting? It doesn’t really matter for it doesn’t negate what I’ve already written. Dreaming big dreams and setting goals with our writing (and all other areas of life) can result in amazing outcomes. Without dreams and goals we tend to drift through life aimlessly.
Dream big – you might just surprise yourself.
I’ll give you a few examples:
- Imagine holding your first novel in your hands. Feel it, look at it, smell it.
- Dream about the day you sign a three book contract – and the satisfied feeling it engenders.
- Visualise walking across the stage to receive that literary prize.
- Plan and rehearse what you are going to say and do when you launch your first book.
On the last item my wife and I attended a friend’s book launch last year. My wife took detailed notes on what to do and how to run a launch – and she keeps reminding me of this. It spurs me on to get that manuscript finished and off to a publisher.
Dream big.
Make it happen.
Good writing.
Write the best you can
Today’s quote:
“I have tried simply to write the best I can; sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” Ernest Hemingway.
I guess countless writers would like to write as well as Hemingway. Many have tried, few have succeeded.
In any endeavour this is an excellent maxim on which to base one’s activities. Always strive to do your best, sometimes you will surprise even yourself.
I guess one could also say that sometimes we get lucky and write really well. I would contend, however, that if we continue to strive to be better writers, and constantly and consistently persist at the craft, that we will improve. I know I have and my readers tell me so. My most demanding reader and critic is my wife; she tells me that I’ve improved out of sight in the last few years. That is encouraging, and it helps me to keep going – and keep improving.
Good writing.