Cindy on March 15th, 2009
How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book. ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Last week, after I mentioned that Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own was one of the most influential books I’d ever read, my friend Ellen asked me to list my top 10 “life-changing” books. I love a challenge like that. And what perfect timing, since March is National Reading Month!
As I told Ellen, my list of “Top 10 Life-changing Books” is a little odd — or eclectic — for many reasons. For one, a “life-changing” book isn’t necessarily a great work of literature. (I was an English major in college, so I had to read a lot of great literature.) So much depends on what I was going through at the time I read a particular book. When I first read Anne Frank’s Diary of A Young Girl, for instance, I was barely 12 and just beginning to dream of becoming a writer. That book blew open my perspective on a lot of key issues — and it narrowed down my career goals.
Taking Ellen’s challenge to heart, I quickly listed the first titles I could think of that had the biggest impact on me when I read them. And I couldn’t stop at 10 books. So, in no special order, I offer the following:
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf
The Mysterious Stranger, by Mark Twain
The Diary of A Young Girl, by Anne Frank
The Magus, by John Fowles
Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury (tied with Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes)
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
The Portrait of A Lady, by Henry James
Tess of the D’urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitz
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
Letters to A Young Poet, by Ranier Maria Rilke
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
If You Want to Write, by Brenda Ueland
The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott (really young when I read this- – big impact!)
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, Sue Monk Kidd
Care of the Soul, by Thomas Moore
Operating Instructions, by Anne Lamott
The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron
Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
The Crosswicks Journal (a memoir trilogy), By Madeleine L’Engle
I know I’ve neglected to list a few other favorites, but this is a good start. Now it’s YOUR turn. I’d love to read your list of “life-changing, perspective-altering, heart-stopping, I-gotta-read-it-again” books. — Cindy La Ferle
Cindy on March 10th, 2009
If you really want to write, you will do it anywhere: under trees, on the bus, in the bathroom, or in a booth at a noisy cafe.”
First published in 1929, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf has been reduced to a catchphrase for writers and architects who haven’t even read the book. Originally penned as two lectures, Woolf’s landmark essay asserts that every woman writer should have a substantial income and a room of her own if she is to produce literature worthy of publication and readership.
Furthermore, Woolf said, women who want to write ought to be given the freedom to travel — and they must have plenty of idle time for daydreaming and creating. That was very progressive talk for the 1920s.
And while it isn’t exactly earth shattering today, A Room of One’s Own is still considered a major milestone for women writers. Whenever I’m asked to name 10 books that changed my life, this one never fails to top the list.
Excuses, excuses!
Not surprisingly, the subject of finding privacy and “the perfect writing space” always comes up in the writing workshops I teach. In fact, not having a room of one’s own is the most popular excuse for not writing anything. I’ve met a few self-described procrastinators who do have an extra guest room but insist they can’t work there because it’s poorly lit, uninspiring, too small, too cluttered, too close to the neighbor’s window, or cursed with bad feng shui.
But sooner or later, every writer arrives at this truth: If you really want to write, you will do it anywhere: under trees, on the bus, in the bathroom, or in a booth at a noisy cafe. Serious writers need only a pen and a notebook to get started. And nothing — not even a bad view or ugly curtains — will stop us.
That said, I believe Virginia Woolf made an excellent point about the need for peace and privacy, and she didn’t even have kids to distract her.
Setting boundaries, closing doors
When my son was a toddler, I began freelancing in the damp basement of our 1920′s home. If you’re a younger parent who’s eager to combine writing with motherhood and housekeeping, setting up shop at a kid’s craft table next to the laundry room might sound convenient.
But I quickly discovered this was not what Virginia had in mind.
Working in a murky basement was actually a metaphor for the way I undervalued my career at the time. Aside from the fact that the ambiance was vaguely reminiscent of Freddy Krueger’s boiler room, my desk was typically littered with construction paper or my preschooler’s science experiments. Settling in to write, I’d find blue finger paint or Play-Doh oozing from my paper-clip container. My scissors and rolls of tape mysteriously disappeared. Meanwhile, the clothes dryer kept buzzing — which didn’t exactly impress the editors who phoned about assignments.
A year later, I moved my office upstairs to a small library with lots of windows overlooking the yard. Not long afterward, I began taking my work more seriously.
Most important of all, my home office has a glass door to establish my boundaries. Even though my essays and newspaper columns are read in public, I’ve never liked the sense of other people looking over my shoulder while I draft new material. So I usually keep the door closed while I work.
Clearing your own space
Every writer is different, so you’ll have to experiment until you find what works for you.
Not long ago, I met a parenting columnist who’s also the brave mother of four little boys. She rented cheap office space just ten minutes from her house, which seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. But after three months of commuting back and forth to work and trying to coordinate an awkward breast-feeding schedule, the columnist admitted her new office wasn’t so ideal. The clamor of family life is what kept her energized and motivated.
If you don’t have the luxury of a spare bedroom or an attic with a desk, claim a corner of the house where you can focus on your work. Use the area just for writing (or your other creative projects) and keep supplies within easy reach. Put up a folding screen for privacy while you work; or use it to conceal your works-in-progress. Creating an official space for your creative life will dignify your goals and intentions. You’ll find it easier to establish a routine — and harder to keep making excuses.
If you don’t already have a room of your own, can you describe your ideal space — right down to the supplies you’d need? What would you have to do to make it a reality? – Cindy La Ferle
Note: Part of this essay is excerpted from a previously published essay “Home Sweet Office” — which appears in full in my book, Writing Home.
Top photo: a detail from one of my altered art pieces inspired by Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. Bottom photo: a glimpse of my recently remodeled home office in Royal Oak.
Cindy on June 23rd, 2008
I’m always on the lookout for books on the craft of writing to recommend to new writers in my workshops. My shelves are crammed with old favorites like Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write. But it’s not easy to find helpful books for those who want to learn what it’s really like to be a freelancer typing alone at home, maybe in a terrycloth bathrobe…. So I’m happy to share a new title, Sixty Candles: Reflections on the Writing Life, which was published this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the nation’s leading organization for professional freelancers.
Written by ASJA members, Sixty Candles lights the way with dozens of short essays — some reflective, some informative — on the ups and downs of the freelance writing life. Everything a new writer needs to know, from how to cope with isolation to the thrill of breaking into that first glossy magazine, is shared between these covers. (The book includes a short essay of mine on dealing with rejection.)
“Never lose faith in freelancing,” writes Norman M. Lobsenz, an ASJA founding member. “It is a tough business, and not getting easier to survive in electronic times. Yet somewhere along the way each of us has learned to have faith in our skills and in our selves.” Â If you’re serious about writing for top newspapers and magazines, this book is worth your time and $14.95. -- Cindy La Ferle
