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Hemingways' Attic: Surviving as a Writer
A survival guide for writers from bestselling novelist William Elliot Hazelgrove. The novelist in Ernest Hemingways' attic gives his philosophy and tips for surviving as a writer in America. "Getting your first novel published is one thing, but there are no classes for how to survive as a writer. Publishing does not offer much, but the school of hard knocks. Writers mostly keep to themselves and flame out or end up in some gutter without telling anyone of their journey. There are lots of books on how to get published and make a bestseller and how to sell books. But to survive as a writer in a society that doesn't recognize writing as a viable way of life is very tricky. Most will not undertake it. Many will wait until retirement and then write their self-published novel after a creative writing class. It is all very safe and not who this book is for. This book is for the writer or the author who must survive.
- GenresWriting
88 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 27, 2011
1 person is currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
William Elliott Hazelgrove
20 books25 followersWilliam Elliott Hazelgrove is the national bestselling author of ten novels and fourteen narrative nonfiction titles, including Dead Air: The Night That Orson Welles Terrified America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), Greed in the Gilded Age: The Brilliant Con of Cassie Chadwick (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), and Al Capone and the 1933 World's Fair: The End of the Gangster Era in Chicago (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017). His books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly Kirkus, Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, ALA Editor's Choice Awards Junior Library Guild Selections, Literary Guild Selections, History Book Club Selections, and optioned for movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today, The Smithsonian Magazine, Daily Mail, and other publications, and has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered. The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, CSPAN, and USA Today have all covered his books with features.
source: Amazon
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 10, 2021
The measure of a good self-help book is whether it can get readers to change their behavior, and since this book did that for me, I’m giving it 5 stars. It’s a writing book, but it’s not about craft, nor is it a guide to publishing. It’s about surviving as a writer, so mostly it’s about psychology and personal finance. I strongly disagree with the personal finance stuff. I even considered docking a star because of it, but ultimately, I can't. The book helped me too much.
Author William Hazelgrove correctly points out that good writing takes time. Total immersion makes for better results. Ideally, that means quitting your job and navigating your relationships so that you have a lot of time to yourself. You need a very supportive spouse or parent – someone who’s willing to take care of your material needs and give you time, space, and quiet. Since most people don’t have that, he recommends living with a pet, collecting unemployment, using credit cards, and declaring bankruptcy if you have to. “Businesses do it,” he says. "You’re making a bet on you."
I think that’s completely unsustainable. If I racked up that kind of credit card debt, I’d be so stressed out, I’d be unable to write. So while it's undeniable that a regular day job can sap your creativity, going into debt strikes me as the wrong answer. I prefer the advice of the book Quitter, whose first sentence is, “Don’t quit your day job.” A move like that has to be planned out wisely.
Now, perhaps you're one of those lucky people who doesn't have to work a day job. Or perhaps the pandemic forced unemployment upon you, and it's been a boon to your writing. If so, you may find this book as useful as I did. For one thing, it will make you feel glad you’re no longer in the rat race. But being your own writing boss has its own pitfall: the temptation to get busy with other things. It's not just binge-watching Netflix or chatting on social media. Ordinary household chores can take you out of the zone, too. But Hazelgrove is a drill sergeant with a touch of cheerleader. He puts it eloquently: don't squander the gift of free time. That's the advice that changed my behavior. Now, instead of scrolling through my phone first thing in the morning, I’ve gone back to doing something I haven’t made a practice of in years: writing in my journal after I wake up. That change is so precious to me, it's the reason I gave the book a full 5 stars.
Hazelgrove also broaches the subject of MFA programs. He's not a fan, which is kind of ironic, considering that I found out about this book from a professor at such a program. Hazelgrove argues that more than teaching you how to write, the programs teach you how to teach writing. After all, that’s how the professors spend their own time. He prefers informal writing groups, but he advises not to become a “lifer.” When you feel like you’ve outgrown your writing group, move on. I'll definitely bear that in mind for the future.
Though the advice about using time wisely was my favorite, I also gained from his model of how to forge ahead with your daily writing quota when self-doubt creeps in. He showed instead of telling, which was way more helpful to me than the cheerleading of the NaNoWriMo guide, No Plot? No Problem!. I’ve always been slower than the NaNo requirement, and I probably always will be, but thanks to Hazelgrove's self-mockery, I can see my way toward a strategy for upping my daily word count. Instead of trying to push the inner critic away, I'll incorporate his voice into the process without letting him stop me or bog me down. (Though as I've spent my entire writing day on this one review, it's hard to say whether I'm implementing the plan or I'm as bogged down as ever.)
In short, if you’re serious about writing, I highly recommend this book. I especially recommend it alongside The Death of the Artist, which is a frank discussion of money matters and the creative life. So despite not agreeing with everything Hazelgrove had to say, the book inspired me overall, and for that, I am grateful.
Author William Hazelgrove correctly points out that good writing takes time. Total immersion makes for better results. Ideally, that means quitting your job and navigating your relationships so that you have a lot of time to yourself. You need a very supportive spouse or parent – someone who’s willing to take care of your material needs and give you time, space, and quiet. Since most people don’t have that, he recommends living with a pet, collecting unemployment, using credit cards, and declaring bankruptcy if you have to. “Businesses do it,” he says. "You’re making a bet on you."
I think that’s completely unsustainable. If I racked up that kind of credit card debt, I’d be so stressed out, I’d be unable to write. So while it's undeniable that a regular day job can sap your creativity, going into debt strikes me as the wrong answer. I prefer the advice of the book Quitter, whose first sentence is, “Don’t quit your day job.” A move like that has to be planned out wisely.
Now, perhaps you're one of those lucky people who doesn't have to work a day job. Or perhaps the pandemic forced unemployment upon you, and it's been a boon to your writing. If so, you may find this book as useful as I did. For one thing, it will make you feel glad you’re no longer in the rat race. But being your own writing boss has its own pitfall: the temptation to get busy with other things. It's not just binge-watching Netflix or chatting on social media. Ordinary household chores can take you out of the zone, too. But Hazelgrove is a drill sergeant with a touch of cheerleader. He puts it eloquently: don't squander the gift of free time. That's the advice that changed my behavior. Now, instead of scrolling through my phone first thing in the morning, I’ve gone back to doing something I haven’t made a practice of in years: writing in my journal after I wake up. That change is so precious to me, it's the reason I gave the book a full 5 stars.
Hazelgrove also broaches the subject of MFA programs. He's not a fan, which is kind of ironic, considering that I found out about this book from a professor at such a program. Hazelgrove argues that more than teaching you how to write, the programs teach you how to teach writing. After all, that’s how the professors spend their own time. He prefers informal writing groups, but he advises not to become a “lifer.” When you feel like you’ve outgrown your writing group, move on. I'll definitely bear that in mind for the future.
Though the advice about using time wisely was my favorite, I also gained from his model of how to forge ahead with your daily writing quota when self-doubt creeps in. He showed instead of telling, which was way more helpful to me than the cheerleading of the NaNoWriMo guide, No Plot? No Problem!. I’ve always been slower than the NaNo requirement, and I probably always will be, but thanks to Hazelgrove's self-mockery, I can see my way toward a strategy for upping my daily word count. Instead of trying to push the inner critic away, I'll incorporate his voice into the process without letting him stop me or bog me down. (Though as I've spent my entire writing day on this one review, it's hard to say whether I'm implementing the plan or I'm as bogged down as ever.)
In short, if you’re serious about writing, I highly recommend this book. I especially recommend it alongside The Death of the Artist, which is a frank discussion of money matters and the creative life. So despite not agreeing with everything Hazelgrove had to say, the book inspired me overall, and for that, I am grateful.
Displaying 1 of 1 review