NB This isn't my bed, sadly. It's in the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy, where the poor used to go when they were sick.
Showing posts with label Hilary Mantel; Humility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hilary Mantel; Humility. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
It Wasn't the Cough that Carried Her Off...
Another thing that the great Ms Mantel said in the Culture Show at the weekend was, "you need to lead a boring life if the contents of your head are very exciting." As I'm in the grip of a vile cold > chest infection, I'm going to leave you with that reassuring thought, cover myself in Vicks vapour rub and go back to bed...
NB This isn't my bed, sadly. It's in the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy, where the poor used to go when they were sick.
NB This isn't my bed, sadly. It's in the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy, where the poor used to go when they were sick.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Blue Sky Thinking...
I watched Hilary Mantel on the Culture Show over the weekend -- riveting and inspiring stuff. She's been a god to me since I read A Place of Greater Safety, and as for Wolf Hall - well, respect.
She had a great deal to say that I found interesting and helpful, but one of the things which struck me most was her humility. At one point she confessed, "Every day I'm writing I feel like a beginner -- there are no guarantees because you could do it yesterday, you can do it today." If you look beyond the writerly superstition to which every author must be prone, that not-taking-anything-for-granted feeling, you find an extraordinary sense of possibility, both positive and negative. There is the chance that you will dry up and won't be able to think of anything to write at all, but on the other hand you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that anything could happen. That is the thrill and the source of the compulsion to keep going. The blank computer screen (or page) is like the wide blue sky -- who knows what the weather will work upon it?
She had a great deal to say that I found interesting and helpful, but one of the things which struck me most was her humility. At one point she confessed, "Every day I'm writing I feel like a beginner -- there are no guarantees because you could do it yesterday, you can do it today." If you look beyond the writerly superstition to which every author must be prone, that not-taking-anything-for-granted feeling, you find an extraordinary sense of possibility, both positive and negative. There is the chance that you will dry up and won't be able to think of anything to write at all, but on the other hand you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that anything could happen. That is the thrill and the source of the compulsion to keep going. The blank computer screen (or page) is like the wide blue sky -- who knows what the weather will work upon it?
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