Willa Cather on Making it an Adventure

On Writing: Episode One

In 1921, Willa Cather told an editor for the magazine Bookman that she only worked for two and a half to three hours each day. "If I made a chore of it, my enthusiasm would die," she said. "I make it an adventure every day."

Like so many other writers, Cather preferred working in the morning when she was "fresh" and unencumbered by the day's concerns. I always prefer working in the morning, too, although my intentions are far better than my practice. Although I know the key is getting up at least an hour before everyone else is out of bed, it’s easier said than done. I go to sleep most nights vowing to be up at 5:30 the next morning, but I roll out of bed closer to 6:30 or 7:00, chastising myself and promising to do better tomorrow.

Today was one of those rare days when I managed to get up early. By 6:00 am I was at my desk with a strong cup of coffee. By 7:00 I had written three pages. Those three pages felt more like 20; it had been so long since I had written three and pages in one go.

Cather is on to something here. If you work in short spurts--two hours instead of five--every minute of it is more likely to feel like an adventure. If you can't afford two hours, try one. If you can't afford an hour, try thirty minutes. University of Nebraska Press has published a whole book of Cather's insightful advice on writing, with the utterly unpretentious and spot-on title, Willa Cather on Writing.

Alice Munro, by the way, is a writer who accomplished much of her early success while juggling writing with motherhood. First, she wrote while her youngest child napped, and later, she wrote while her children were at school. Toni Morrison's time was so limited as a single mother with a nine-to-five job that the time she did manage to find at the typewriter was rich with possibility. "By the time I get to the paper something's there," she said. "I can produce."

No matter when you are able to make it to your writing desk, or your notebook, try to approach it as an adventure, not a chore. Merely having the privilege of an hour to write can be an adventure in itself.

This week, when you sit down to write, attempt to do it with a sense of enthusiasm for the hour that you have, the hour that will never repeat itself, this spectacular, beautiful, unique hour in which anything can happen.

If you want to learn more about Willa Cather, who was nearly 40 when she wrote her first novel, watch the short video Meet Willa Cather on PBS Learning or visit the National Willa Cather Center.

In this post: Willa Cather on Writing. Get it at Bookshop.org.

M. Richmond, Publisher, Fiction Attic Press