Odd Writing Habits that Worked

The literary world is dotted with figures, each with its unique, and in a way, eccentric writing habits. Some were fastidious, some methodical, a few wrote with a drink by their side, some wrote standing up, some walked while they wrote, while others liked to write lying down.

Writing standing up was an oddly common method. Thomas Wolfe wrote standing up as did Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov, the author of Lolita. Nabokov used index cards for his writing. He wrote the scenes non-sequentially so that he could re-arrange the cards as he wished. His longest novel Ada(1969) took up more than 2,000 cards. American novelist Philip Roth also wrote standing up, pacing around as he thinks. He is said to walk half a mile for every page he writes in a studio built away from his house, and at a lectern that doesn’t face the view of the studio window.

However, Truman Capote, author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood was a completely horizontal author. He wrote lying down, in bed or on a couch, with a cigarette and a drink whether coffee, tea, sherry or martinis. He wrote his first and second drafts in longhand, in pencil. His third draft would be typewritten, done in bed with the typewriter balanced on his knees. Capote had a remarkable memory. His acclaimed In Cold Blood(1966) which he labeled a ‘non-fiction novel’ was written after he read an account in The New York Times about the murder of a farmer and his family. Capote visited the scene of the murder, and over a period of time, became familiar with everyone involved in the investigation. Rather than taking notes during interviews, Capote committed conversations to memory and immediately wrote quotes as soon as an interview ended. His memory retention for verbatim conversations had been tested at over 90%.

Many authors were obsessed with their craft. Kurt Vonnegut author of such works as Cat’s Cradle(1963) and Breakfast of Champions(1973) wrote one page at a time, which would be rewritten, as many times as it takes, until he was happy with it. French novelist Marcel Proust wrote a first draft in longhand, and then has it typeset. He would crowd the typeset page with additions, often pasting new pieces of paper to the borders of the pages. Most of his writing was done in bed, at night, in a cork lined room, surrounded by the apparatus of the invalid. English humorist P. G. Wodehouse used to pin the pages in undulating waves around the wall of his workroom. Pages he felt were working well would be pinned up high, and those that still needed work would be lower down the wall. His aim was to get the entire manuscript up to the picture rail before he handed it in.

Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient and Running in the Family, drafts his novels in longhand and literally cuts and pastes (with scissors and tape). His stories are written in longhand but as he had bad handwriting, he reads his manuscripts aloud into a tape recorder for a typist to transcribe the tape. Australian novelist and biographer Josephine Blanche D’Alpuget prints out a first draft from the computer and deletes the original file from the computer. Then she types the whole thing again from the printouts.

Then the authors who must have their drink in the pursuit of their literary goals. American writer and Nobel winner William Faulkner couldn’t do without whiskey whilst writing, while Ernest Hemingway, a known alcoholic, never drank and wrote. French novelist Honoré deBalzac’s work habits were exemplary. He would eat a light meal at five or six in the afternoon, then sleep until midnight. He then rose and wrote for many hours, fueled by innumerable cups of black coffee.