I was fascinated by the idea of an English novelist writing such serious, metaphysical, almost European prose as this. … “Apparently,” said my friend knowledgeably, as we watched McEwan swing his new wife around the dance floor, “he only writes fifteen words a day.” This was an unfortunate piece of information to give an aspiring writer. I was terribly susceptible to the power of example. If I heard Borges ran three miles every morning and did a headstand in a bucket of water before sitting down to write, I felt I must try this myself. The specter of the fifteen-word limit stayed with me a long time. Three years later I remember writing White Teeth and thinking that all my problems stemmed from the excess of words I felt compelled to write each day. Fifteen words a day! Why can’t you write just fifteen words a day?
Zadie Smith recalls being struck by Ian McEwan’s rumored writing routine upon attending his wedding when she was nineteen and still unpublished.
Pair with the actual rituals and routines of famous writers and Zadie Smith’s 10 rules of writing.
(via explore-blog)
(Source: , via explore-blog)
2 weeks ago
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