The odd ways of coincidences

Summary

The web content discusses the peculiar habits and eccentricities of various renowned authors, which often play a crucial role in their creative processes.

Abstract

The article delves into the unique and sometimes bizarre routines of writers, emphasizing how these habits contribute to their literary output. It cites examples such as Charlotte Zobeir Ali, who sings before writing, and other famous authors like Honoré de Balzac, who consumed large quantities of coffee, and Agatha Christie, who developed plots while bathing and eating apples. The piece also mentions Vladimir Nabokov's butterfly chasing, Edgar Allan Poe's writing with a cat, and Charles Dickens' fascination with visiting morgues. These idiosyncrasies are presented not as oddities but as integral parts of the authors' identities and creative success.

Opinions

The author expresses admiration for Charlotte Zobeir Ali's poetic form and her pre-writing ritual of singing, acknowledging it as a method to stimulate creativity.
There is a sense of acceptance and normalization of writers' eccentricities, viewing them as part of the artistic process rather than something to be embarrassed about.
The article suggests that these peculiar habits can be seen as a form of dedication to the craft, such as Balzac's monk-like writing routine and Hugo's strategy to avoid social distractions by having his clothes hidden.
The author seems to find humor in the eccentricities of writers like Dickens and his time spent in morgues, and Capote's preference for writing while lying down, often under the influence of whiskey.
The piece concludes with an encouraging note, suggesting that writers should embrace their quirks, as these might someday place them alongside other distinguished authors in the annals of literary history.

(Lecture notes on peculiar ways of creating)

Writers have their own habits, often very interesting, sometimes unusual or as it is said today eccentric. Either way, these are all sorts of activities, behaviours or even obsessions that in their own way stimulate authors to write, thus giving us joy of reading.

Only yesterday I was thinking about different authors and the oddities they bear when a strange coincidence happened.

Well, during everyday reading I came across a short poetic form Waiku, A wavy poem by Charlotte Zobeir Ali and I immediately fell for it, although I find her writing very ascetic, yet thoughtful with a noticeable wavy rhythm and masterly matched words which, in summary, gave the poem a unique melodic line based on the sound of the spoken words. Yes, such type of poetry should be read aloud, otherwise this wonderful element is lost.

So, when I expressed my appreciation for the author’s talent, she responded that before writing she always sings. What, for this particular reason, but also because of talent puts her in the rank of distinguished authors and their even more distinguished eccentricities.

And believe me, there is no reason to be embarrassed. Singing in comparison wit habitual consumption of whole coffee tanks as was the custom of Honoré de Balzac who admittedly drank even 50 cups a day is nothing unusual. Whereas, unusual may seem entire range of bizarre conducts of our favourite authors. Let’s take de Balzac, sometimes the muses woke him up in the middle of the night, he usually got up around one o’clock, dressed up in a carded monk’s habit girded with rope and wrote so until the morning, then he allowed himself a little nap, after which he was ready to work again.

Agatha Christie use to construct plots of her novels while bathing and consuming apples at the same time. As she said, ideas appeared in the least expected places and moments, often during everyday activities, e.g. while gazing in to shop window, or in the kitchen.

Victor Hugo wrote naked. Yes — naked! Writer led very rich social life so, he was afraid that arising from this fact commitments would stand in the way of his career, then he ordered his servant to hide his all clothes, which lead to situation whent without a decent attire he rather stay at home and devote himself to work instead of socializing naked.

Vladimir Nabokov — liked to chase butterflies, he literally ran across the meadow with a net, claiming that this is what helps him in writing.

Edgar Allan Poe wrote with a cat sitting on his shoulder, who knows, maybe it was the cat who dictated the Raven to him.

Truman Capote called himself a horizontal writer because he wrote while lying on the sofa, often working under the influence of a significant amount of whiskey.

Charles Dickens had a weakness for corpses, he could not explain it, but he frequently spend a lot of time in morgue, looking at the sections and observing the preparations for burial.

Thus, as you can see, singing is nothing to be worry about. Besides, admit it or not, we all have our oddities, the difference is that for cultural and often aesthetic reasons we are not naming those out loud. On the other hand, writer without quirks seems even stranger than the one who has them. So, let’s write and flaunt our weirdness and who knows maybe someday we’ll find our place next to Charles Dickens.