In this guest post, Mark Gottlieb discusses the creative lifestyles of eleven world-renowned authors and poets.

—

We are always on the lookout for inspiration in our daily lives. Sometimes we look for the same inspiration when it comes to our creative endeavors such as writing. Trident Media Group literary agent Mark Gottlieb provides this informative list of well-known classic authors and some of the writing habits and rituals that served them well. Maybe we could all take a page out of their books!

Harper Lee: Pulitzer Prize-winning author of To Kill a Mockingbird

While it might sound strict, Harper Lee viewed writing as a matter of self-discipline. She also kept things very simple for the writing process. Some might even say that Lee’s desk was Spartan. She actually began writing To Kill a Mockingbird in a very small, cold apartment where she had repurposed a wooden door as a desk. Yikes! It is no wonder that Lee ended up writing in a very realistic and straightforward style. Marie Kondo might also find it agreeable that when we clean our homes, we end up cleaning our minds. Even if it is only a matter of decluttering our desks, having a clean space to work goes a long way in writing with a clear mind.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: Jazz Age celebrity and author of The Great Gatsby

While F. Scott Fitzgerald was historically portrayed as a natural-born writer, he admitted that his writing abilities came to him from laborious work. One of the writing habits he had was to organize some of his scattered thoughts into various notebooks. Fitzgerald then broke some of those notebooks down into subcategories to organize them. Having a notebook and pen nearby can help keep that midnight revelation from escaping our grasp. Speaking of keeping things from escaping our grasp, Fitzgerald was secretive about whatever he was writing. He believed that telling others about his idea could result in the loss of ideas. It can help to keep precious ideas close to one’s chest, at least until publication.

Emily Brontë: author of Wuthering Heights and one of the Brontë sisters

Studying poetry is like learning to paint with words. Emily Brontë had her own way of writing where she used the exercise of writing poetry to help inform her prose writing. Poetry helped make her writing more lush and floral. Brontë found much of her inspiration in nature; her poems and prose reflected some of the themes of the outdoors. We can use our understanding of reading and writing poetry in order to elevate our writing. Brontë also published under the pen name of Ellis Bell. Sometimes it is easier to speak our minds when we have freedom from retribution. If worried about what others might think of your writing, then give a pen name a whirl.

John Steinbeck: Nobel Prize-winning author of The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men

The importance of play is something that never eluded John Steinbeck. He always felt the need to dawdle a bit before setting to his daily task of writing. While it is important to work hard/play hard, it is also important to remain lighthearted and to take a mental break every now and again. Easing into writing is another way to find enjoyment in the process of writing, and can help to make the rest of the writing process more fruitful. Once Steinbeck would hit his writing stride, he was all about getting his ideas down on paper as quickly as he could. He felt that the revision process during writing merely slowed a writer down. Steinbeck thought that the revision process was also an excuse to keep a writer from going onward in their writing.

Virginia Woolf: author of Mrs Dolloway and To the Lighthouse

Reading correctly was just as important to Virginia Woolf as writing correctly. She had an angled standing desk fashioned for herself where she could write and then easily stand back and read her work. Woolf actually meant this for the purpose of jumping back and forth between the task of reading and writing. We could all probably benefit from an ergonomically correct position while reading or writing. Woolf was also something of an inventor in having fashioned a piece of plywood as a portable writing desk with a tray of pens attached. Taking your writing with you is another way to keep the writing flow going … just be sure to keep from craning your neck.

Edgar Allan Poe: editor, literary critic, and author of “The Raven”

It meant a lot to Edgar Allan Poe to have his pet tabby cat, Catterina, nearby while writing. He felt she was essential to the creative process,, and he would look to her for purring sounds of approval. We can sometimes forget that writing need not be an act of complete solitude. It can help to have a pet, friend or loved one nearby, at least on occasion. Poe was also all about keeping his writing short and sweet in order to hold the reader’s attention. Economy of written language has become even more important in today’s internet age, where attention spans are being pulled in different directions at any given time.

Agatha Christie: writer of Murder on the Orient Express and over sixty-six crime novels

Saying Agatha Christie was highly prolific is an understatement. Part of what helped her write those sixty-six novels and fourteen story collections was a writing ritual she had. Christie enjoyed chewing on apples while sitting in a bathtub, dreaming up her next murder mystery novel plot. Talk about food for thought! Munching on apples was also a repetitive task, making for meditation. The bath probably made it more relaxing. Our brains don’t just need fuel to write but also mental recalibration afforded by R&R. Christie also observed people at cafes and restaurants in order to build her characters more accurately. It is important for writers to get out into the world and observe their surroundings rather than getting stuck in front of a screen all day.

Lewis Carroll: author of Alice in Wonderland and “The Jabberwocky”

Lewis Carroll had an affinity for standing desks but also had a lighthearted nostalgia for writing in purple ink. The truth of the matter is that writing in purple ink was carried over from Carroll’s time as a mathematics professor at Oxford, where he was expected to grade student work with purple ink. It is still sometimes important to be fun and festive in order to enjoy the writing process. Carroll also offered up advice to fellow writers on the essentials of writing letters and how taking occasional mental breaks could help the creative process. This was long before medical studies would show the same.

Flannery O’Connor: National Book Award-winning novelist and essayist

Flannery O’Connor had a sweet tooth for vanilla wafers. It was delicious food for thought. While that might seem tame, she also had a bizarre fondness for birds. Even though they made for great literary pets, many of her critics found her obsession with birds to be very strange. O’Connor also kept ducks, turkeys, chickens, and even a pheasant. Her fondness for birds ultimately helped fuel the interest of readers in her writing, which prominently featured descriptions of birds. It is our hobbies and interests that help to stimulate us and make us interesting in the eyes of our audience. Also, as we learned from Edgar Allan Poe, who doesn’t love a literary pet companion in the writing process?

Victor Hugo: author of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables

We have all heard about setting writing daily writing goals, but Victor Hugo took it to another level. In anticipation of writing The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Hugo bought a bottle of ink and stayed in his apartment during the winter. He locked away his warm clothes so he would have to remain indoors. He wore primarily a large gray shawl to keep him warm during the winter months. At least he was comfortable. … It is no surprise that Hugo later lived his life in exile. While it is important to buckle down and work sometimes, everything should be done within reasonable measure. Sometimes getting comfortable with a warm blanket or shawl can help too.

Emily Dickinson: highly-prolific American poet

It is important to always be ready to write that idea when it comes to you. Emily Dickinson would write on whatever she could find, whether it be a scrap piece of paper or an envelope. Whenever we are feeling inspired is a good time to get that pen or keyboard out. She was also a recluse and became a practitioner of letter writing for her primary means of communication, which helped to strengthen those writing muscles. Even when we are not necessarily writing creatively, the task of writing an email can help improve our overall writing abilities.

© Mark Gottlieb

—

Mark Gottlieb is a literary agent at Trident Media Group in New York City. Since his time at Trident Media Group, Mark Gottlieb has represented New York Times bestselling, as well as award-winning authors. He has also optioned and sold books to film and TV companies.

---