I’ve always loved the above quote:
“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”
But have you read this quote in context? There’s a lot of depth here. ⬇️
What, you ask, does writing teach us?
First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right. We must earn life once it has been awarded us. Life asks for rewards back because it has favored us with animation.
So while our art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can revitalize us amidst it all.
Secondly, writing is survival. Any art, any good work, of course, is that.
Not to write, for many of us, is to die.
We must take arms each and every day, perhaps knowing that the battle cannot be entirely won, but fight we must, if only a gentle bout. The smallest effort to win means, at the end of each day, a sort of victory. Remember that pianist who said that if he did not practice every day he would know, if he did not practice for two days, the critics would know, after three days, his audiences would know.
A variation of this is true for writers. Not that your style, whatever that is, would melt out of shape in those few days.
But what would happen is that the world would catch up with and try to sicken you. If you did not write every day, the poisons would accumulate and you would begin to die, or act crazy, or both.
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
For writing allows just the proper recipes of truth, life, reality as you are able to eat, drink, and digest without hyperventilating and flopping like a dead fish in your bed.
I have learned, on my journeys, that if I let a day go by without writing, I grow uneasy. Two days and I am in tremor. Three and I suspect lunacy. Four and I might as well be a hog, suffering the flux in a wallow. An hour’s writing is tonic. I’m on my feet, running in circles, and yelling for a clean pair of spats.
So that, in one way or another, is what this book is all about.
Taking your pinch of arsenic every morn so you can survive to sunset. Another pinch at sunset so that you can more-than-survive until dawn.
The micro-arsenic-dose swallowed here prepares you not to be poisoned and destroyed up ahead.
Work in the midst of life is that dosage.
— Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing
Especially this week, with all the medical stuff going on with my daughter, I’ve felt that pull of being poisoned by the world. Add on the normal annoyances and obligations and my level of exhaustion has been pretty high.
However, I last wrote to you all that this time I wasn’t going to abandon my writing. In 2019 when my son had his car accident, the story was different. My creativity ground to a halt.
I am happy to report that I’ve been writing every day and it has helped tremendously. It has helped me not to hyperfocus on worries and fears. Isn’t it good to get lost in our fictional worlds?
One day I only wrote two sentences, but I still sat at my computer. Some days I’ve worked on multiple chapters. It’s felt good, guys. Really good. This is my fourth novel; the tea plantation romance.
I started thinking about this book in 2014. Partly, I knew this book would be a good follow-up to my debut novel (but hello book 2 and three that inserted themselves—thankfully) so, it was a thing I daydreamed about a lot.
For that reason, bits and pieces have come to me over the years. I’ve collected them like foreign stamps and have kept them in my scrapbook. Song inspirations for scenes, my Pinterest board, and tons of research on the tea industry in 1880s British Ceylon. A lovely friend even gifted me an actual historical tea planting manual for my birthday in August. We all need those friends who keep us encouraged about our works in progress. ♥️
In 2018 I finished the first draft. It was a mess (as all first drafts are) with a small collection of glowing scenes. Last year, I worked through some of the issues in the plot, so I’ll call that a second draft. A couple of weeks ago, I started on the third draft. And finally, some of those pieces that have been bothering me have come into place. 🎉🎉🎉
Because this is historical, usually those pieces have to do with research. Some things I ask myself during this process are, “Is this plausible?” and “Would you buy this for a nickel?” 😂
I hope that by showing you a bit of my creation and publication timeline, you’ll give yourself a little more grace for yours. The neat way I planned ended up being a little messier, but I got more books out of it. And I’ve learned so much along the way. The point is: don’t give up. Keep writing even when it doesn’t make sense. Books are for reasons and seasons. If a story came to you, it’s important. There are people who need to read it. Sometimes the timing will be weird, but take a deep breath. We’re all in this together.
Keep calm and carry on.
Brandy ☕️🫖