Just read an article on different authors’ writing routines, and was thinking it might be quite fun to try them all across the year to see whether they work for me. The obsessive routines of C.S.Lewis and Toni Morrison would undoubtedly do wonders for my productivity, but I wonder whether I would come to associate writing with all that I hate in life (very early mornings, not being able to do anything spontaneous, and suchlike).
Some might prove more difficult than others, though – will need to procure a dog from somewhere for Wordsworth‘s technique, and I’m not sure how well George Sand‘s 2 year affair strategy would go down with my partner… But it would be interesting to see how standing up to write would affect my productivity, as per Philip Roth, or how my body would react to a minimum 50 cups of coffee a day like Balzac.
AD 39, June 10th
Today is the first anniversary of Drusilla’s death.
It’s clear to everyone that I need cheering up, so to that end I have commissioned a statue of myself. It shall be like me in height, appearance – every respect, in fact. But instead of marble or bronze, he shall be cast in purest gold. Perhaps jeweled eyes, although I think that might just look a bit strange. And every day he shall be arrayed in the exact attire that I have chosen to wear that day. I will need to employ someone whose specific task that will be.
Why? Because I can. I am the emperor of Rome, after all.
12 Books in 12 Months 