Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-03-11
HOW THEY DO WRITING.
Some eccentricities Admitted by Men
and Women Authors in New York.

I
| of the Authors club drifted across the
| han ana Joined them. The converse
| ton shifted from one subject Ia an
other until one OF the men writer's no.
! ticing that the woman next him Was
neither eating nor drinking, asked for
an explanation.
You see. I'm going for Il conference
with the manager who is To produce
my next play" the woman told him.
Il wish my brain To be at its best. 50
| mustn't eat Besides, / am working
on my next book, and | never take
more than one meal a day while work
ing.
You can judge for yourself. sh"
went on after the eNclamati0ns Of her
listeners had subsidized. Though |
have been working steadily six days
in the week for more than five months,
eating only breakfast. I'm sure l
haven't lost as much as five pounds.
What do | have for breakfast
While working | always take the same
breakfast. two medium boiled eggs.
three French rolls With butter, ana wv"
cups of hot milk with just enough
coffee to color them. ] rise at :
o'clock. breakfast at O'Clock. and as
\ rule work until 3 or o'clock in the
afternoon. Then | go out for fresh AIR
and exercise. Incidentally, if there is
ANYTHING going on in the Way oi
amusement or if ! can | make my
business engagements between " ana
i o'clock.
What do do after Is clock Why.
7 go to work. Usually ! keep at it un-
til . o'clock. BY that time I'm quite
ready for bed, and unless something OF
Importance happens. l go there.
1t requires about week for me to
break myself in each time | begin
serious piece Of work. At first | get
bit restless around meal time. but by
the end OF the week I never feel the
need of more than one meal
When the work is finished, I am
careful for the first few days not to
overeat. 1t is not because ! feel par
ticularlN hungry. for l never have felt
50, but because | know l should go
little slowly.
Before | began this one meal a day
while working, it used to take me at
least n week 10 make the first draft of
each chapter in a novel Often | would
work from breakfast to lunch time
without having written line that
was worth while. Then if | attempted
it in the afternoon it would be with
little better success. If | tried il af-
ter dinner | seldom got going until
after midnight.
"Ot course my family protested
against my writing all night. but |
worried along. until it finally struck
me that the reason [ could write af-
ter midnight was that the process of
digestion being finished. | had the full
use of my brain. | began To expert
ment BY dropping off lunch, then din
ner. until finally ] formulated my pres
ent schedule.
Now | take my seat at my type
writer half an hour after finishing my
breakfast, and L seldom have as much
as ii page of manuscript to throw
away. 1t makes all the difference in
the world, and so long as take plen-
ty of out-of- door exercise | don't lose
flesh or color"
Maybe it is better than drinking
strong tea and coffee" the woman
writer across the table suggested. At
least | have to admit that while writ
ing my books I always lose both flesh
and color
II write only in the morning or at
night, and always with Il pot of strong
coffee or tea to fortify me. If [ feel
my brain getting little sluggish. los
ing its snap, | take cup of which,
ever it is, tea or coffee I have to
change off from one to the other, be-
cause they lose their stimulating eff
fects after I have been taking them
three or four weeks.
But / never could use Typewriter.
| m too nervous; the noise would near
ly drive me mad. Besides. / cant
write unless l am lying face down. It
is entirely true. Come to my place and
I'll show YOU.
Il have a desk. but it is only for do
ing writing of no Importance and
keeping my papers in. For creative
work | stretch out or lounge and
write on pad resting on "A pillow. Il
cant write i'll any other position. Il
contracted the habit when small
child. ] was an omnivorous reader,
and because my family fancied / was
reading too much they locked all the
bookcases. For weeks all l got was
looking at the books through glass
doors.
Finally my eldest brother returned
from college on his vacation. When he
found out the conditions he set to work
to help me out Without word pass
ing between us on the subject. he
would select certain books from the
cases, one at time, and place it on a
table in his room. When I wanted to
read | would take that book, slip un-
der his bed. and. stretching myself out
on the floor, read undiscovered.
When | finished the book, instead of
putting it back where | found it. I
would place it on top of the book he
was reading. He would replace it in
the library and take out another for
me. When he returned to college I
used to borrow books of the girls at
school and read them under the bed.
afternoons and Saturdays, to prevent
my eldest sister from catching me and
taking them away from me-
My popularity is red pencils" one
of the men authors. poet. said. "Of
course l know it is all habit. but |