Writers are a strange nation

Writers are strange or interesting people, depending on who you ask. I've been around writers for some time and have noticed that most have their rituals, fancies, excesses, and some behaviors that could perhaps be classified as perversions.

         1. They cringe

Whether it's notebooks, notepads, pens, pens. They just like to surround themselves with what they use to do their work. I like to call them Jack's Club. By the way, even Tolkien found a liking for Czech crayons.

         2. Their rituals

One colleague mentioned to me that she never starts using a new pen until she has finished her previous one. Even if she puts it somewhere and then searches for it around the flat for two days. My friend loves bookmarks. But only the YELLOW ones. It doesn't matter what's on them, but they have to be yellow.

And then there are the connoisseurs. Some people write the end of the book first. One author creates only in black. Some write only when it's dark, others only when they have a deuce under their skin... And I could go on. Personally, I like to listen to the rain when I want to write. This time, thanks to the makers of ASMR, I don't have to wait for storms anymore.

         3. The way other books read

I know one person who only reads books wearing gloves so he doesn't feel them. Another won't get into a book that is part of a series until he has it complete. Someone likes to sniff out new pieces in the bookstore. I was most intrigued by the lady who reads from the middle of the work to see if she'll enjoy it.

         4. Their fears

The fears that writers, especially beginning writers, have are for another article and I'll address them. But from a general perspective, I'd single out two. They're afraid of losing what they've already written, so they back up. Everywhere! PC, phone, email, external hard drive/server, at a friend's place, under the mattress. Of course, quite often this effort clashes with their other paranoia - that someone will steal their work.

And for those of you who worry that there's no point in writing because there are too many books, I have good news. Do you know what abibliophobia is? The fear of not having anything to read. And people suffer from it. So don't worry, there are still plenty of readers.

The writing tribe has many quirks and idiosyncrasies. Because each of us is an original. Both in quirks and in creativity. And that's something to hold on to. To write according to ourselves and not according to what's in style. Plus, authors, the really great ones, boast one more interesting thing. In an age when telling the truth, or holding up a mirror to people, is not very desirable, this advice is rarely followed.

P. S. Do you know why Jack's Club? Because I was intrigued as a school-age child by the story of a man named Jack Kerouac. Author of the novel On the Road, which he supposedly wrote entirely on toilet paper.