The Glamorous Life of a Writer

Authors fascinate me. I enjoy listening to them on talk shows promoting their books. I like visiting their book-signing tables and I always read their detailed bios at the end of whatever book I've read.

Their photos interest me, too. They either are smiling like they're your very best friend or they're looking pensive, academic even. The backgrounds are lovely and they are dressed professionally or casually chic. John Grisham frequently is in jeans and a blazer standing in front of a bookcase of lawyer textbooks. Sue Monk Kidd is shown with a sweater tied jauntily around her shoulders. Many are photographed leaning their chins on clasped hands. Who sits like that?

Truth of the matter is, this is the reality of being a writer:

This is after a morning writing session of several hours. Ugh!

Airbrushed photo shoots are nice and heavy make-up does wonders. However, for most writers the real work gets done whenever inspiration or self-discipline demand--usually in ratty old clothes or a bathrobe and jammies. Most work from home where dress codes are non-existent.

Stephen King got his start writing in his laundry room. The late humorist, Erma Bombeck, also worked from her laundry room and kitchen table. I know an architect who does his best design work in the middle of boring business meetings. And we all know about song writers who've written musical lyrics on cocktail napkins. When inspiration hits, one must grab it or it quickly disappears. I'm convinced it visits someone else and they get credit for the good ideas.

When my husband and I stroll along the beach boardwalk on our San Diego vacations, I point out quaint little cottages just a stone's throw from the ocean. "I could write the great American novel there," I tell him. I feel the same when I see a tiny, secluded cabin in a wooded area. "If only I owned a Writer's Retreat. I could really write then."

Inspiration doesn't work that way. There's an old Dick Van Dyke episode where his wife, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), sends him off to a cabin in the woods for a week to begin his novel. Cabin fever sets in early on and the antics he goes through are hilarious. He spends a lot of time counting how many hits he can do on the paddle and rubber ball he packed. At the end of the disastrous week, all he has to show is a one-line dedication to his lovely Laura. He promises her one day he will write a book to go with it.

What did that Van Dyke episode reveal? Creativity happens whenever. It doesn't rely on the perfect, quiet, inspirational setting. It frequently comes in the middle of the night or during a hot shower. A special Writer's Nest or Artist's studio would be wonderful but that's not what does it. God gives us creativity and we carry it wherever we go, regardless of the setting.

Now, back to those handsome photos of writers that I envy: I would love to see what John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks, Jan Karon, Liane Moriarty, or Sue Monk Kidd really look like when they write. The closest a writer came to being honest was Erma Bombeck on the cover of her book, When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home. Look it up--you'll love it.

Come to think of it, Laura Hillenbrand, who authored Unbroken, suffered chronic fatigue syndrome during the writing of the book. Sarah Young of the highly successful devotional books, wrote Jesus Today while battling the effects of serious lime disease. The glamorous life of a writer. Right.