A Writer’s Roadmap Thursday Postcard
“…Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.”
Agatha Christie
An Autobiography
Ain’t that the truth?
Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. She also lived an interesting life. In the first world war she worked as a nurse and became a certified apothecary. Her books started coming out in 1919, and aside from the jigsaw puzzle plots, for the history buffs among us they shine a weird light on the interwar years.
Her son in law said of Christie, “You never saw her writing.” But she did write, obviously!
She used a Dictaphone and school notebooks to work out plots. She got ideas by paying attention. Eavesdropping in a tea shop, hearing a name, reading a newspaper article about a swindler. Embracing what might seem like life’s idle moments.
Whether you write full time or on the side of a day job, here is something to ponder: How can you be idle this week?
Cheers,
Pat
Photo & quote credit: Bookish Santa: Spreading Books With Love