I’m re-reading this book I first started maybe back in 2010 or 2013. It’s a collection of writers and their working habits (Daily Rituals by Mason Currey.) When I first started, I read it from cover to cover. A decade later, I found myself looking at the chapters of women writers. They seemed less rigid about their rituals (not too type A-ish or like, gym bro-y.)

I mean, Simone de Beauvoir didn’t necessarily wake up at 6:30 in the morning. That, to my standard, is absolutely rigid. Everything else, whether it’s a walk or run is acceptable. de Beauvoir would wake up at 10 a.m. and brew herself some tea. It seemed like a softer way to coax out one’s creative muse.

However, she did have a more or less structured life it seems. A former lover described her lifestyle to be completely devoid of clutter, just absolute essentials and a “simplicity deliberately constructed so that she could do her work,” he said of the absence of parties, receptions, and bourgeois values.

My writing and translation work has given me zero structure in terms of working and writing habits. The semblance of a structure I have is my planner and the inked deadlines. If I know something is due on Sunday, I will start thinking about it a week or two ahead, strategizing the best plan.

For example: If I had an article about boutique hotels, I would start going through my brain for the ones I know of or have been to and start a list. In the next few days, I do my physical research, whether that’s hopping on a search engine, perusing books at the library, or exploring certain neighbourhoods. Then I will start crafting my draft. On the third day, I will sit down again to make edits. I stay seated for hours until I feel there’s nothing more to add or shave off. The next step is to source images and work on formatting. If I can source images online, I do that but if I know that I can get better images physically, I set a day earlier in the week when I go out to take photographs.

I usually finish formatting and packaging deliverables the night before a deadline. I write out an email and schedule it to be sent off first thing in the morning.

Of course, a news article that needs to be pushed out in hours follows a completely different process. I have a compartment in my brain dedicated solely to news writing that follows an extremely compressed structure. It might include a five-minute walk, a mug of tea, deep sighs and an eye roll.

But in between these days of writing, I am out and about. Whether it’s saying yes to spontaneous invitations to a kickboxing class or a long walk along Olympic Village.

de Beauvoir’s life was much more spartan than I thought mine to be. I always thought my life was a bit more sterile compared to others. I stuck on the safer side of things because I was juggling many things and one missed beat could ruin the entire play (or my mental health.) I needed to be a creature of comfort so as not to disrupt the delicate balance of the life I’ve rebuilt (after pivoting into journalism/communications.)

But compared to de Beauvoir, my life is utter clutter! Full of bourgeois activities, although I have for most of my Canadian life, lived as a blue-collar worker before barely scraping through the glass ceiling of “professional” work.

On Google Sheets, I have a running list called “Content Consumption.” In it I have manhwas to read, animes to watch, not including films and TV shows. Out of my week, four to five days are spent meeting a friend for a walk, having coffee or a cozy dinner in their homes.

No wonder, the only writing I’ve been able to do is that for my jobs! But then there are days when I am idle and I have so many thoughts running through my head but when I sit down, they refuse to be put on paper.

In Marilynne Robinson’s chapter, she says she just doesn’t write if she doesn’t feel like it. How affirming! Ever since I was a high school freshman writing for our school paper, I’ve struggled with writer’s block. I would sit through our office’s computer, willing inspiration to take over my fingers until they tap the keyboards furiously. It didn’t quite help. What made me overcome the blocks was my fear of deadlines and our rather sassy Features Editor.

To this day, I am still haunted by the guilt of showing up empty when I start to endeavour to write. Though I’ve somehow figured out a flow. I know I need an overarching structure but enough room to play inside. Balancing play and consumption with creation– I go on walks, enjoy the company of people, learn from their POVs, and go home to sit on conversations had then reflect.

After reading more chapters today, I’ve come to the conclusion that you just do what works best for you. Mine is to read a chapter of angsty manhwas before I start work (a modern writer, I tell you.)

Whether you have a disciplined writing habit or not, the people in the book are all published and prolific writers.

**shrugs

P.S. I just accidentally flipped through Bernard Malamud’s chapter and this was what he had to say:

“There’s no one way, there’s too much drivel about this subject. You’re who you are, not Fitzgerald or Thomas Wolfe. You write by sitting down and writing. There’s no particular time or place–you suit yourself, your nature… Eventually everyone learns his or her own best way. The real mystery to crack is you.”

Bernard Malamud
Better said by a better writer. Heh.