"A Writer´s Space" by Eric Maisel

I have, over the years, read loads of books about writing. In the beginning it was mostly books on the craft of writing, but after a few courses in Creative Writing at the university, I have been mostly in need of books on the lifestyle of the writer. As anyone knows who have tried, trying to write a novel is not an easy thing. It takes persistence, passion, muscle, and a good portion of bloody-mindedness.

I suppose I have learned a lot from these books, things that I have incorporated. The other day I leafed through some of my old books on the how-to, and it was a bit like looking through old high-school-books. It felt basic, like kid´s stuff. Like I have actually evolved.

I don´t really know how I found this latest addition to my collection, that arrived in my mailbox the other day. But Eric Maisel knows exactly what it´s about. He has made me think a bit differently about some of the things I struggle with, and I have made a few changes to the way I organize myself and the space around and inside me. And he knows what motivates a writer. This is a quote from the very last page:

"You might need to learn how to cook your meals in a toaster oven, because you might be very poor. You might need to learn how to barter for movie tickets, sing for you supper, live on air. Still, what life was better?

You could spend time in libraries. You could travel the whole world just by dreaming. You could create fine scrapes and get you characters out of them. You could say deep things about the human condition. Then, after a few hours of that, you could go for a walk and get an ice cream."

Guess what? That is exactly what it´s like to be a writer. Even just an aspiring novelist. Being a published one probably won´t be much different, not in essentials. Eric Maisel is the man to remind you why you do what you do when you´re down. Actually, I manage well to do exactly that myself, but it´s always nice to know you are understood by at least one creature out there. And that is why I love books.