Umberto Eco

I am reading Umberto Eco's autobiography.  I picked it up at the library on a whim because I like his stories and because it states, "he published is first novel in 1980 when he was nearly 50"  That gives me hope.  I'm finding that a good number of authors that I like started their writing careers late in life.



I love that he asks questions like, "Why is a bad poet a creative writer, while a good scientific essayist is not?"
So much to ponder and agonize over.

I Warn You Now

You - yes you - if you are not nice I'll make you a character in a story and then kill you off in ignominious ways.

Lipstick moments

I learned from a good friend to always keep a notebook and pencil handy at night.  Why?  For what I've come to call "Lipstick Moments".  Those times when you are trying to get some sleep only to have a flash of brilliance.

Now, if you are single and sleep in your own room it's easy to sit up, turn on the light, and jot things down, but  many people I know have either roommates or spouses and turning on a light just isn't going to happen.  So, I recommend a large notebook and a mechanical pencil.

I bet you are wondering why "lipstick"...well a good friend once had a flash, couldn't turn on the light and didn't have a pencil/notebook handy so she wrote a poem in lipstick on her arm.  Went back to sleep and by morning.......yaaaa her arm was a lovely "Autumn Rose", but the poem was gone.

I share this because last night I had one of theses LMs and was ever so glad I could sit up, write, and in the morning read it.  Actually I've gotten quite good at writing in the dark.  So that is the advice for now;  keep paper/pencil handy even in your sleep.