Comments on: On writing: The romance of the writer from Hemingway to Gladwell

By: What would Joe DiMaggio do? – Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea « Wait until next year

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:07:17 +0000

[...] books, ernest hemingway, joe dimaggio, the old man and the sea, writing After this blog’s one moment of international fame, I thought I’d make a brief return to the work of your friend and mine, Ernest [...]

By: The Great Gatsby – or is he? « Wait until next year

The Great Gatsby – or is he? « Wait until next year — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:33:15 +0000

[...] was certainly the case with F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. After reading Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, which features Fitzgerald around the time The Great Gatsby was written, the novel itself seemed a [...]

By: Stationery pleasures « Wait until next year

Stationery pleasures « Wait until next year — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:46:54 +0000

[...] I thought I ought to acknowledge this, particularly as, for the first time, stationery got a few mentions on the blog, in my post on writing. [...]

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:46:44 +0000

Foul moods are very welcome here, don’t worry! I’ve yet to find the perfect cafe for writing, or for anything creative. Most ‘modern’ coffee places are hellholes, and I too could do without navigating past the congregating trendy mothers. I’d probably get down to more work or reading in a pub, to be honest, if I needed a bustling atmosphere.

Yes, and the ‘writing poser’ does indeed suck. They are only matched by the ‘reading poser’, with the carefully-thumbed novel of the moment, perfecting that tortured gaze into the distance…

By: goldnsilver

goldnsilver — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:00:43 +0000

goldnsilver – I resisted mentioning the ‘laptop in the cafe’ archetype which I’m sure many of us have encountered. I’ve been known to get my notebook (paper) out from time to time to scrawl some notes, but that’s it. I don’t think the technology in public route is for me. I can see some people using it is a ‘ooh, I’m a writer’ prop, but I know that’s not everyone. Some people do genuinely work better in public spaces, so good luck to them. And writing certainly is a struggle, and time is a luxury.

Sorry, I think I blitzed your site when I was in a bit of a foul mood, lol. But yes, there are those that work best in bustling environments (maybe I’ve never been to a relaxing cafe – my image of a cafe involves being stuck next to a bunch of mothers discussing their lactating cycles or how Jeremy is alergic to chia latte, beans, ants, honey, nylon etc).

Despite what I said, I have occassionally in public been known to suddenly whip out a small pad of paper from my handbag and scribble furiously in it (it causes staring). I also spent an 3 hour train ride to Paris making notes for a future project (maybe there is something about Paris!)

Goldnsilver: I agree with you. I find it pretty irritating when people bring their laptops or anything that could provide an impression that they are “writers”. Sometimes we try to romanticize things too much (like waiting for an inspiration etc), whereas writing is no different from other profession. It’s still work. But since writing is under the arts, writing requires tons of discipline and determination. Him going ’round town and scribbling notes at cafes helped him developed his craft in some way. Well, that’s how I understood it.

I think we can all agree that the ‘writing poser’ sucks, as do all posers. And yes, I completely agree that writing requires a shite load of discipline (something that I don’t have right now, hence me commenting on the internet!)

Also, I’ll have to check out Hemingway. Someone with a surname that epic can’t be bad at all.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:59:46 +0000

Yasdr and titi, thanks for stopping by and adding your comments, I really appreciate it.

I can see how the laptop-wielders can be irritating, but I can also see the appeal – particuarly if you’re a freelancer going stir-crazy at home. Maybe this needs to go on my future blog posts list…

By: titi

titi — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:48:31 +0000

You are write so nice. I like Hemingways’novel and I read his novel in Bahasa Indonesia “Pertempuran penghabisan” . Hemingways’novel is interesting, and read his novel not boring. Hi , look myblog in Jendelakatatiti.wordpress.com , thank You so much!

By: yasdr

yasdr — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:36:56 +0000

By: yasdr

yasdr — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:23:55 +0000

After reading A Moveable Feast, I now have this unusual hunger to dine and hang out in cafes and restaurants; walk around town to take notes of the things I’ve seen on that day (I make sure I have my handy little notebook with me all the time). And even if most of the times I’m in dire need of cash, I agree with Hemingway that you can be happy and full even if you are poor. This is probably the best book I’ve read this year and will always remain one of favorites.

By: Welcome to ‘Wait until next year’, all you folks from the Wordpress homepage « Wait until next year

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:07:32 +0000

[...] A big welcome to everybody who has discovered this blog via the ‘Freshly pressed’ section of the WordPress homepage and read my post On Writing: The romance of the writer from Hemingway to Gladwell. [...]