Magic Cloaks, Lucky Charms, and Other Writerly Superstitious Habits
By Sarah McCoy | February 27, 2018 |
Flickr Creative Commons: Mohammed Alnasar
I visited Lucy Maud Montgomery’s bedroom on Prince Edward Island to research my forthcoming novel Marilla of Green Gables. Standing before Maud’s vanity mirror, I tried to see the world through her reflection: single bed, gabled ceiling, flower wallpaper, writing desk, lamp, chair, and window looking out to the Lake of Shining Waters. The morning light twinkled golden peach over everything in the room, and I understood why she protected her hours in it.
Montgomery wrote in the mornings, so the myth goes, and she always began with her journal. On February 11, 1910 she wrote, “… the worst as well as the best must be written out.” She had to first write herself out before she could begin the day’s fiction.
Was this a decisive routine to clear the deck for her characters? An unconscious habit born of her youth? Or a writing spell that she feared breaking? I can’t say for certain, but it got me thinking about the superstitious patterns of our writer tribe. Some we admit. Many we keep secret. But Writer Unboxed is a safe space of honesty and acceptance, so I’ll crack open my nut first…
In Montgomery’s room
I wear a cape when I write. Technically, it’s a red tartan robe that my mother gave me. My husband refers to it as the “get-off-my-lawn” old man robe. But he’s of a medical mind and doesn’t comprehend the magical realms of our craft. It’s a cape, endowed with super powers. I have a hard time concentrating when it isn’t on. I’ve tried to supplement with a sweatshirt or shawl, but I spend the whole time yearning for it without a single word produced. Also, when I’m not robed, it usually means that I’m in public attire. I.e. The public (my husband, mailman, dentist, doctor, friends and neighbors) feels within its right to interrupt me. My cape protects me from this—a kind of warm, invisible cloak allowing me to slip into the imaginary without distraction. Sure, one of the pockets ripped off and hangs to the side; the cuffs are permanently ink stained; the sash was knotted some time ago and with subsequent washings has become untie-able. It’s a homely thing. I’m a realist in that regard. But I’ve worn it every writing day of my last two books, and it has made the impossible happen many times. I fully intend to wear it until the seams come undone and the hem tatters.
I am not alone in my wardrobe particulars. Caroline Leavitt says she writes better when wearing a specific set of red earrings. Carson McCullers has a lucky sweater, and Francine Prose wears her husband’s red and black checked flannel pajamas. Then we have John Cheever who preferred nothing at all and wrote best in his underwear. Garments aside, there are many other superstitions to be claimed.
Isabelle Allende begins all her novels on the same day: January 8th. Truman Capote, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton insisted on writing lying down. Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, and Hemingway had to be standing up. While A.J. Jacobs walks on a treadmill and Dan Brown hangs upside down to cure his writer’s block. Poet Edith Sitwell gets inside a coffin to focus her mind, and Friedrich Schiller said he couldn’t write without a rotten apple smelling up the room. Someone could pen a treatise on the varied and extensive list of author superstitions.
Curious, I posed the question to a forum of contemporary writers: 60 percent said they do not have superstitious writing habits and 40 percent said they do. Here are a few willing to share their charms. Who knows, maybe they’ll work for you, too. At the very least, they prove that the writing community is a methodically creative bunch.
Lisa Barr: Every day after writing, I send my daily literary toil to myself, my spare AOL email address, and to my husband.
Rebecca Anne Renner: If I tell someone about an amazing opportunity I’m getting, I’m afraid it’ll go away. Like if I talk about it, the universe will snatch it back.
M.J. Rose: I have to play Gregorian chants when I write each draft of the book. I have to buy one [lucky charm] for each book. 18 books – 18 lucky charms. I have to sleep with the ARC under my pillow one night.
Cass Morris: I came here without writing superstitions, but now I’m gonna try M.J. Rose’s ARC thing.
Sue Silverman: I need total quiet and privacy or I fear whatever I’m writing will fly out of my head.
HW Peterson: I won’t tell anyone what I’m writing about until I’ve finished the first draft.
Lorie Boris: I need total silence to write. With the door closed.
Becca Dobias: I keep almost every email that has to do with my writing, even rejections…
Lisa Roe: I design a book cover and put it in the front of a 3-ring binder. As a reward for finishing a chapter, I get to print it out, punch holes in it and put in in the binder—very satisfying! Every time I start a new book I get a new phone case that reflects something in the book.
Claire Amy Handscombe: I usually hand write fiction, and always use the same brand of pen when I do. I like them to be new pens so the ink is brightest blue.
Tracy Alifanz: I thought of the perfect titles for both my books taking the same highway exit heading into town. So that’s my lucky exit.
Amy Doan: I don’t convert from Scrivener to Word until I have 80K words and an ending I love. If I’m stuck I burn a blood orange 3-wick candle. It has to be a certain brand.
Misty Urban: Even though I write scenes on the computer, I have to have a Pilot G2 black .5mm pen and a college ruled spiral-bound notebook for sketches and free writes. I carry a dozen pens with me at any given time for fear I will run out of ink.
Julie Clark: I have to write longhand in sharpie (ultra fine tip, multicolored). I cannot put words into a doc if I haven’t at least gotten started on the page.
Elizabeth Bell: I like to burn a scented candle appropriate to the scene I’m writing. On a beach? Ocean-scented candle. In a rose garden? Rose-scented candle, etc. I also like to wear something my characters are wearing, such as a Victorian-style chemise or a saint’s medal.
Share with us: Do you have a writing superstition?
[coffee]
SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the novels Mustique Island, Marilla of Green Gables; The Mapmaker’s Children;The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee; the novella “The Branch of Hazel” in Grand Central;The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico; and Le souffle des feuilles et des promesses(Pride and Providence). Her work has been featured in Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, Huffington Post, and other publications. She hosted the NPR WSNC Radio monthly program “Bookmarked with Sarah McCoy” and previously taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Brian, an orthopedic sports surgeon, her dog, Gilly, and her cat, Tutu.
I don’t have any particular writing habits or superstitions (although I do often like to write very very early morning so I can be sure to be alone), but I had to comment to say that your description of your cape reminded me of a description I read from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s son, in his biography about his father:
“One of the present biographer’s earliest recollections is of his father’s palm-leaf dressing-gown, and of the latter’s habit of wiping his pen upon the red flannel lining of it. At length his wife made a cloth pen-wiper in the form of a butterfly, and surreptitiously sewed it on in the blackest centre of the ink-stains, much to Mr. Hawthorne’s gratification and amusement.”
I just love that description juxtaposed with The Scarlet Letter. You’re in very good company, and I’m very envious of writers with lucky/superstitious objects and habits.
Julia, you’ve given me a gift with this comment. I didn’t know that about Hawthorne– he had a cape, too! With a magical butterfly sewn inside. How wonderful and perfect. Especially, as you astutely pointed out, as it compares to the dark territories he explored in his writing.
Thank you for sharing this with me and for being a part of my WU family. So grateful!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
What a fun post! I love this stuff. Yep, I do have writing ‘divinities.’ When I was writing my novel The Dazzling Darkness about a crystal skull, I had lots of quartz crystals on my desk, candles, and dried sage. Chicken Tabaca was a spicy dish that my character Alexei cooked in my novel Greylock, so I made that a lot and drank Russian Caravan Tea when writing the story because Alexei drank it. Also, I would talk to my cat about my scenes, even read aloud to her–my writing companion.
Fantastic, Paula! You were embodying the characters’ landscape, as any good (superstitious) writer does! This made me smile. I talk to my dog Gilly all day long about scenes, characters, and places. He helps me untangle things and is the best listener I’ve ever met. ;)
Thanks for sharing!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I have a ratty, oversized Montauk hoodie I wear when I write. It’s pink, or it was, and reminds me of a retreat in the late spring, when we had the entire length of the ocean to ourselves. Until you said it, however, I didn’t realize that the very rattiness is what I love–it does signal to the world that I am not in public mode. Shhh! I’m creating! Go away!
Yes, exactly! My husband doesn’t understand that the fact that my “get off my lawn” old man cape is scuzzy is part of the charm. It keeps the public away! My cape doesn’t have a hood, but I wish it did. Then I would be head to toe full armed for the writing battleground.
Writing godspeed to you in your magic hoodie!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I used to live on Prince Edward Island. Sadly, the house in Cavendish where Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote ‘Anne of Green Gables’, ‘Anne of Avonlea’, and many other stories, was demolished by its owner who bulldozed it to the ground after too many sightseers pestered him for a tour. What remains of the house is a plaque and a bit of a cement corner. The landscape remains untouched. It’s still possible to walk the original treed lanes surrounding her grandparents’ homestead and visit Green Gables, a quarter of a mile away.
Such a pleasure to meet someone who lived on PEI!
Yes, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s childhood home with her MacNeill grandparents is now a ruins site and “Green Gables” was really her MacNeill cousins’ farm. But as it was explained to me by the local Montgomery expert, with her mother deceased and her father remarried out west, various relations took turns housing Maud for extended periods of time. One of her most favorite place to live was at her Aunt Annie Campbell’s home (Sugar Bush beside what is said to be the Lake of Shining Waters). I’m told she spent more time at her Aunt Annie’s than anywhere else. So much so, that she had her very own room there, claiming she felt more a part of their family than her elderly grandparents. The MacNeill farm has publicly stamped the ruins site as “where Anne of Green Gables was written here,” but Maud did much other writing in her room that I visited at the Campbell’s. At least, this is what was told to me by her relations.
The Montgomery lore across the island is vast. I found half a dozen different stories about the same events and people. That only made it more magical to me. I can’t wait to share my novel in October. As you see, I love talking about Cavendish and the island. You’re so lucky to have lived there. Thanks for being a part of the WU community, Veronica!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I have a mug for the tea I am drinking while writing. It has “Shut up, I’m writing” printed on it in old-fashioned looking “typewriter font”. It is MY mug… only mine. I am willing to share every mug in the house with family and visitors alike – but not this one. This one is MINE. :-)
That’s a mug with a message–ha! You actually just clued me into another of my writing rituals. I have a particular mug that is painted black inside. I use it every writing day. I don’t drink from anything else. I chipped the bottom of it so it sits lopsided and you have to be careful not to knock it over when it’s full. But it is my mug. Only mine. And just as you said, I don’t share it with anyone. If a visitor came and tried to drink from my mug, I’d probably take it away and claim the chip as hazardous to their drinking health. But really, inside, I’d be shrieking, “That’s MY MAGIC MUG.” ;)
We are a strange writing tribe… I’m so glad to be in it with you!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
What fun that you have a magic cape!!! Because I started writing after putting my family to bed, pjs and nighties signal writing time to my brain. After morning chores, which includes walking the dog, I often slip my pjs back on. I’m pretty sure some of neighbors think I don’t own anything but pjs.
I also love to have a cup of tea when scribbling in my notebook, which I do with my Mont Blanc pen (and as J says, it is MINE :) And I love having my furry friends with me. I also keep some saint cards and my daily missal handy because I need all the help I can get.
I can write pretty much anywhere as long as it’s quiet, so I am never without pen and paper.
Pajamas are the writers standard issued work uniform! Under my magic cape, you betcha there are pajamas. My husband started buying me “crossover” wardrobe years ago. So now, I can go out in my black pajama/yoga pants and sleep/tee-shirt top without anyone giving me the goose eye. It’s more for his sake than mine. Ha!
I love that you keep saint cards with you. When I graduated from my MFA creative writing program, one of my mentors (author Janet Peery) gave me a tin saint card. It’s the Señora de Guadalupe: Protection Against All Evil. A couple weeks after graduating, I found out that we were moving to El Paso, Texas. I’ve kept her saint card beside my desk since 2007 through the writing and publishing of all my books. I’m not superstitious about it but I always put it in eyesight of my desk. I like knowing it’s there… Janet’s saint watching over me while I work. A treasured charm, for sure.
What saint cards do you have?
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I feel so much better having read this. Like Lucy Maud Montgomery, I journal first–clear the head. I have my mornings at the kitchen table, the meditation or poem before I begin writing. I have my candle, my good coffee, my Pilot Precise V7 (fine point, blue ink), my wide-ruled spiral-bound notebooks where the messy notebook drafts get written. I have my “journal of the journey”–a special journal I keep for each project.
I love my mornings. I love Writer Unboxed.
And I love this post from you, Judy. So many warm-&-ready-to-write feels. There’s much beauty in the quiet alone of morning time. I cherish it.
Thanks for sharing your writerly bits. I’m happy I’m not alone in my proclivities!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I do a ritual cleaning of my office before I start each new book. In my historical mystery series, each book is exactly eleven chapters long…and I write really long chapters. I am afraid if I change anything, the writing Goddess will desert me.
I really, REALLY ought to take up this ritual. Purging the old before the new would definitely be a smart idea. But then, I suppose I sorta have done that without meaning to. I’ve moved three times (Texas-Chicago-North Carolina) in the last 18 months. So in a way, I boxed up after my 3rd novel, then boxed up again after my 4th, and I’ll be boxing up from my current NC digs this summer before Marilla of Green Gables releases. Not sure I need to continue this trend with future books–ha ha. I’d rather like to settle into my home for keeps soon. But cleaning between book projects–yes! I can do that. ;)
Thanks for sharing, Cheryl!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
Sarah, I love that you wrote about this and appreciate so much everyone’s responses. I am eagerly awaiting Marilla of Green Gables. I was fortunate to discover the Anne books (and later the inspiring Emily) on a visit to Prince Edward Island when I was very young. A phenomenal place for a girl from landlocked Colorado, and a sensory wonderland, both in the books and in that beautiful location.
When I’m writing I very much depend on multi-sensory resources: atmospheric music for scenes and pacing, a candle both for its evocative scent for tone and its magical flame for persistence, fresh air, and light, and uninterrupted blocks of time. The free writing, outlining, and drafting are happening first thing in the morning using my trusty Deconstruction notebooks (discovering the spiral versions was a revelation!) and Bic Atlantis black ink pens. Near my desk are dolls that represent characters of my current novel–to prompt and encourage me.
A fellow Anne devotee! I can’t wait to share Marilla of Green Gables with you. I love your “multi-sensory” writing atmosphere and the dolls! So do you purchase a new doll to represent each new project’s protagonist(s)? Like a mini story diorama on your desk. How marvelous!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
What a fun post!
I pretty much write wherever I am and whenever I can snatch the time. Lately, I’ve been surprising myself by how much I can write during a fifteen minute break at work. Last summer I got a small laptop to use exclusively for writing, especially at work, and now it seems the minute I open it, my mind switches to story-mode, even in the middle of a sometimes noisy break room.
My only writing ritual, if you can call it that, is my daily dose of WU, usually while having my morning coffee.
Thanks for making me smile this morning.
Beautiful and so smart. I work everything off one 13” MacBook Air so sometimes it’s hard to delineate between the creative work, the work emails, the friend/family emails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and just plain scrolling across the Interweb reading celebrity gossip about the British royals! Having a singular laptop to write on would definitely be more effective. I’m making a note to for Santa-Birthday-Easter Claus. Thank you!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I don’t have superstitions, but I do have habits: a pot of tea for each writing session and a thematic ink colour for each project (since I first-draft longhand with a fountain pen). Part of ‘getting into’ a new project is figuring out the right colour for it. The last one was purple; this one’s blue.
A pot of tea is the beginning of everything in my world.
That’s fascinating about the different colored inks for your work. Reminds me of Therese Walsh’s (just one comment away below) gorgeous novel THE MOON SISTERS and synesthesia: tasting colors. Sometimes I wonder if other people have different degrees of sensory response to colors– that they don’t even cognitively recognize but just feeeeeeel drawn to. It’s a super power, for sure.
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I love that you have a ‘magic cape,’ Sarah. Too fun. I have special pencils for each book. The pencils for my wip have a holographic-like finish, as the story involves hypnosis.
Yes!! I know all about you and your writing utensil particulars, my dear. I love, love, love it. Also, I totally owe you an email–seeing this reminded me! Forgive me, it’s been a nutty week. Far too few hours in my writing cape make Sarah a bad girl. I told Doc B, I don’t know what extroverty business you might *think* you have planned for this upcoming weekend but you won’t be able to find me… I shall be caped! ;)
Love you and your super pencils, T-sis.
Xo,Sarah
Great post. It’s interesting how many people have their own tried and tested ways of encouraging the Muse.
I always write my first drafts in spiral bound notebooks, a chapter at a time. I then write that chapter up on my laptop, editing as I go. I can’t go on and write the next chapter until I have done that and made a decent job of editing each chapter. I almost always do my initial writing outside – in a park, by the lake, somewhere I feel a sense of freedom to put down on paper what comes to.
I like the cloak idea. think I need something like that when I am transcribing my chapters, so it gives my husband the signal not to interrupt me.
Thank you, Linda, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!
So interesting to hear that you do your initial draft outdoors. I’m impressed. I must have a mild form of ADD because when I’m outside, everything from the grass against my feet to the crickets chirping to the wind blowing my hair distract me and I just want to *be* in it…. thoughtlessly drifting in Mother Nature. I’m a notorious daydreamer. In elementary school, if my teacher opened the window beside me, I wouldn’t remember a stitch for the next hour. All I’d do is smell the fresh-cut grass, and watch the birds fly. Had my name written up on the chalkboard more times than I care to confess for letting my mind drift. Now, I have to be in my black & white office with no TV, radio, phones, sounds or smells. Totally devoid of stimuli so I force my brain to find it in the story. The cape helps me shut out the real world, too– also, as you mentioned, it’s a great signal to family members: #WorkInProgress. ;)
Thanks for sharing your beautiful writing routine, Linda!
Yours truly,
Sarah
http://www.sarahmccoy.com
I love this post! The cape had me in stitches! My husband is forever after me to ditch some of my writing attire. I wear torn leggings, a tank top layered with a long tank “smock” that is soft tissue thin cotton and must wear (all year) my Ugg slippers. No jewelry. The outfit never goes in the hamper, but it does get washed on laundry day! I also have Pandora on Liquid Mind station which is not very selectively programmed to the melodies – no lyrics! – that psychologically get me in the right vibe. The beverage is raspberry and ginger herbal tea. My desk faces the window, so the blinds must be closed so there is no other view but the blank screen. I cannot use a pen and pad other than scribbled memos. I channel through the keyboard only.