October 2, 2026 • 15 mins
Whether you're struggling with a report or the next great novel, Will and Mango have nine genius-approved ways to get through a creative slump.
This episode originally aired on September 20, 2018.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Guess what, Will?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's that, Mango?
Speaker 1 (00:04):
So when I was in high school, I went and
I met this relative who was in advertising just to
learn more about it and to see if I wanted
to be a copywriter. And he warned me that the
most terrifying thing I'd have to face every day was
a blank page. Like the hardest part of the job
is coming up with fresh ideas every single day. And
at the time, you know, I was cocky and I
(00:25):
just kind of laughed. But if you've ever suffered from
writer's block, you know how daunting just starting a new
project or coming up with new ideas can be.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Oh, definitely. And, you know, I think about somebody like
Harper Lee, of course, from my home state, not everything
has to be about your state of Delaware on the show, Mango. But,
you know, after writing To Kill a Mockingbird, she had
such a hard time writing. And it was it was
almost like she was looking for distractions. And I found
this great quote from her. I'd not seen this before,
(00:53):
but she says, I found I can't write. I have
about 300 personal friends who keep dropping in for a
cup of coffee. I've tried getting up at six, but
then all the six o'clock risers congregate.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, if you've got 300 friends coming over for
a coffee, like, don't make coffee. That's good advice.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Or make a smaller pot.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
But, you know, writer's block is really hard. And I've
always been amazed by, like, the people who can just
crank out copy, like Jerry Seinfeld. Like, do you know
his trick?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
What is it? So Jerry's a prolific writer, and he
was asked how he stayed so productive. And in this
one interview, he confessed he actually hates writing. It's just
that he used to keep a calendar on his wall.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Oh, that's right. Yeah, I think I have heard this
story before. But yeah, keep going.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, and every day he'd write and he'd mark this
big X on the calendar. And his motivation for writing
the next day was just that he wanted to draw
another X and he didn't want to break that chain.
But that made me wonder, like, what are the tips
other geniuses have used to stay productive? Like, can smells
or different clothing or certain tricks help nudge you into
finally writing that great American novel you've always wanted to write? Like,
(01:57):
what are the funniest ways to beat writer's block? And
that's what today's show is all about. Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Hey there, podcast listeners. Welcome to Part-Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson,
and as always, I'm joined by my good friend, Mangesh Hatikader.
And sitting behind the soundproof glass, just furiously working on
his latest manifesto.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
He is one motivated dude.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
He is that. That's our friend and producer, Tristan McNeil. So, Mango,
part of the reason we did this episode was that
you were telling me about how some of the folks
in Hollywood used to deal with writer's block, right?
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, so I was on this website where someone had
pasted an interview from The Hollywood Reporter with Joel and
Ethan Coen, the Coen brothers. And they were talking about
this Hollywood producer named Hal Roach, who's apparently a legend.
I didn't know about him, but he did Laurel and
Hardy and Little Rascals and a bunch of famous movies
and shows. And one of his tricks was when the
(03:09):
writers were running out of ideas, he'd bring someone called
a wildie into the writing room.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
And what's a wildie?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Exactly. So it turns out a wildie is someone Roach
would recruit either from like a mental institution or it
could be just like a drunk off the street. And
he'd bring them in, put them at the writer's table.
And when things were getting stagnant, like at a table
read or a story meeting, he'd Wow. Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
I also think there were a lot of bad ideas
blurted out by the wildies.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I have to imagine, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But, you know, speaking of the Coens, they like to
beat their writer's block just by starting another project. So
while they were trying to write and complete Miller's Crossing,
which is a fabulous film, they actually switched to working
on Barton Fink, and then they just switched back and
forth until they had two scripts instead of just one.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I mean, that's such an interesting way to beat writer's block.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, I mean, I kind of like the idea that, like,
if you can't finish one script, just finish two.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Right, right.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
So where do you want to go from here? All right.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, a very different direction. How about Dan Brown, who
you of course know is the author of The Da
Vinci Code and was reading about some of the ways
that he would deal with writer's block. So just to
keep his blood pumping, he would set an antique hourglass
for every half hour. And when the sand would run out,
he would do a bunch of pushups and stretches, which
actually feels pretty normal, like an interesting way to deal
(04:45):
with it. But when he's really out of ideas, he
does something a little bit more strange. So He slips
into a pair of gravity boots and just hangs upside down,
bat style, in order to work through the problem. I
told you this was a different kind of idea, but
it's actually more complicated than that. So he was giving
this speech at a New Hampshire public radio event, and
(05:05):
he described how he does this. So apparently he has
this specially designed table where he straps himself in, and
then the table rotates around so that his head is
where his feet should be, and his toes are pointing
to the ceiling. And apparently the guy's been doing this
for a while and it actually helped him come up with,
you know, all those anagrams he's used in his books.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
That is so weird. And I honestly feel like having
that much blood rush in my head would make me
less inclined to come up with good ideas.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Totally. That would be the only thing I could think
about is how uncomfortable I was.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But, I mean, I guess how you brainstorm is pretty personal.
You know, I've read a bunch of people's bios, like
Louis Bunuel, the director. He had this chapter in his
autobiography where he talked about how a certain type of
corner booth in a dark bar and a certain type
of martini... With a very specific vermouth. I think it
was Norley Pratt-like. he would say those were the things
(06:01):
that you need exactly for breaking through writing. And, you know,
you read his description and you think like, this is
so romantic and it feels like such a thing to
do in the city. And you can see how ideas
just flow to him in the setting. But for someone
like me, like I hate writing when I've had even
like a sip of alcohol. It does not work for
me at all.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yeah, I would say the same thing. But, you know, well,
one thing that might work for you if you're looking
for zero distractions is to follow Edgar Allan Poe and Also,
Jack Kerouac's advice for writing on scrolls, Mango.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Scrolls?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Yeah, neither of them thought that it was smart to
get up from your seat and have to go get
another piece of paper. Now, why they couldn't just keep
a bunch of paper near them, I'm not really sure.
But anyway, they felt like getting up to get more
paper would spur these other distractions. So Poe would actually
attach pieces of paper together to make these long spools.
(06:57):
And then he just used some wax to seal it up.
And that's actually how he delivered work to his editors.
Can you imagine this?
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I would be so pissed if someone turned in a
scroll to me.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
And what about Jack Kerouac? Well, it was kind of
the same thing. So he always said that stopping to
get more paper broke his concentration. So on the road,
that was actually scrawled out on a 120-foot roll of paper.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I mean, that feels like it should be in a
museum or something, right? Like, it's pretty incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
You know what my favorite Kerouac fact is?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So this is from when we did the swimsuit issue
for Mental Floss and we found a picture of him
in a bathing suit and just threw some facts next
to it. But it's that he skipped his high school
graduation to read Leaves of Grass, which I.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Just think is so amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Meanwhile, I'm sure I've told you this before, but like
I was forced to attend my high school graduation and
the superintendent of our school read out all the lyrics to,
and I swear this is true, what he referred to
as the classic song from the movie Space Gems.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
What is the classic song from the movie Space Jam?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I believe I can fly.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Oh, of course.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
So we were stuck in our seats and he treated
like every word was so meaningful. Like he was like,
I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch
the sky. Please stop. It was really inspirational. And we
all left the school and became pilots.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Of course you did. All right. Well, back to the facts.
What fact do you want to go with next?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Well, one thing I think could be a cause of
writer's block is when you're too comfortable. My mother-in-law actually
has this story of when she was in college one
summer and she was selling vacuum cleaners. And she said
like on the weeks when she was particularly hungry or
she needed something specific, like on those weeks, she'd somehow
sell four vacuum cleaners. And when she wasn't, she just
sell two or three. And I think it's kind of
(08:51):
the same with writing. And there's this great story from
Sherwood Anderson. In 1906, he quit his job to focus
on writing. And his publishers, who were kind of betting
on him, sent him these weekly advance checks. But he
was having total writer's block. So he actually asked them
to stop. And when they asked him why, he said, quote,
it's no use. I find it impossible to work with
(09:13):
security staring me in the face.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Oh, gosh. That's pretty wild. I think I would find
just the opposite in that situation. I don't know. That's
pretty interesting. Well, so one thing I've read about is
how people love to find the perfect writing spaces. So
Roald Dahl had his writing shed where he'd walk to
and he'd throw a blanket on his legs and write
from an easy chair. That to me seems like a
(09:37):
little bit more of a good spot to do your writing.
And there was some writer, I was trying to remember,
I want to say it was Colin McCann who has
this tiny space on the floor between a bookshelf and
the wall where he sits and types. It's kind of
like a little nook there. But one of the most
unusual spaces I've come across is George Bernard Shaw's. And
in many ways, his writer's hut was full of distractions.
(09:59):
It had electricity and a telephone and a bell so
people could ring for him. But one thing, it had
this advantage of being one or two minutes away from
the house. So when visitors would come over, his wife
could answer the door and actually honestly tell them that
he was out, even though he was just a minute
away or so. But one of the most important things
to Shaw was good lighting. And his hut was actually
(10:22):
pretty ingeniously built because it was like this giant lazy Susan.
So he could actually spin it and follow the sun
as he wrote, which seemed like a pretty cool setup.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh, that's ridiculous, but I like it. Okay. So I
know we've got two more facts to go, but before
we get to those, let's take a little break. Welcome
(10:53):
back to Part-Time Genius. We're talking writer's block. Now, Will,
I know I can struggle with writer's block sometimes, but
do you actually ever deal with it?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Oh, no question. Yeah, it's definitely frustrating when it happens.
So what do you do to deal with it?
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So I like doing my research ahead of time and
getting all the books and things I need. But when
it comes to actually writing, sometimes I have like a
super hard time getting started. if I don't feel like
I have a good enough idea. But then I'd say
like five or six years ago, I read this thing
that Peter Kafka, who's this legendary editor, he told his writers,
and he said, just write out some beginnings. And the
(11:30):
idea was just start something and write a beginning and
then write another beginning to that story and then another.
And even if you have to stop and all you
have is a page of beginnings, isn't that a beautiful thing?
And I love that quote so much. And Somehow that
works for me. Like just, you know, you start three
or four things and pick one that you like and
then just let the words flow from that until they don't.
(11:51):
But that's sort of my trick, even though we're not
here to talk about my trick. So what's your final
fact going to be for this?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
That's still a pretty good trick, though. I don't think
you've ever told me that before. Well, how about something
about Salvador Dali who perfected the power nap?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
So I love napping. So go on.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Well, Dali was obsessed with that dream space between falling
asleep and being awake. So he tried to figure out
how to put himself into that space for inspiration. So
he had a little trick for this. What he would
do is he would sit in a chair and put
a tin plate on the floor and then fall asleep
holding a spoon, like pretty specific. Or maybe have some
(12:31):
keys over the plate or something like that. But when
the object that he was holding dropped from his hand
and onto the tin, he'd get startled awake. And his
hope was that he'd have this new, wonderful idea in
his head when he woke up.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
So that sounds like the worst way to wake up.
It feels like you're almost falling asleep in this comfortable chair,
but it's not really a nap. But I am kind
of amazed. So did it work?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Well, he swore by the method. In fact, in his book,
50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship, he actually writes, here's the quote,
he says, The moment the key drops from your fingers,
you may be sure that the noise of its fall
on the upside-down plate will awaken you. And you may
be equally sure that the fugitive moment when you had
barely lost consciousness, and during which you cannot be assured
(13:16):
of having really slept, is totally sufficient. Inasmuch as not
a second more is needed for your physical and psychic
being to be revivified by just the necessary amount of repose.
So I can't say that I know exactly what that
quote means, but it just sounds weird and fascinating. So Dolly.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yes. Yeah. I mean, Dolly was also afraid of trains
and he used to sit in the front of the
train because he thought it got into places faster. That's right.
He used to make his own cologne out of fish glue.
So I can't say that I trust all his ideas.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
I mean, those seem smart to me.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Well, my last fact is about Charles Dickens, who needed
a few simple things on his desk to inspire him.
So wherever he went, and he often wrote from the road,
he needed five bronze animal statues, a paper knife, a
green vase, a desk calendar... blue ink and only blue
ink and some quills so if you're really struggling to
(14:14):
write something it's probably because you don't have enough quills
or bronze animal statues watching you as you write i imagine.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Sounding a little bit like the steve martin scene in
the jerk where he just needs the ashtray and the
lamp but i'm curious that why blue ink like was
he ocd about writing or what Uh, maybe.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
But, you know, I've actually read it's more because he
realized blue ink at the time dried faster. So it
was this trick he used to keep himself moving and
not smudging or having to blot the pages as much.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Hmm. That's interesting. Well, you know, I'm not sure if
you had the best facts today, but you definitely had
the best story about a terrible graduation speech and everything.
It made me feel a little bit bad for you,
so I'm just going to give you the trophy this week.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
A pity trophy. I like it. You know, I believed
I could fly, and today I did fly.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So thank you. I changed my mind.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Well, that's it for today's episode. From Will, Gabe, Tristan,
and the rest of us at Part-Time Genius, thank you
so much for listening.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Thank you.
Guess what, Will?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's that, Mango?
Speaker 1 (00:04):
So when I was in high school, I went and
I met this relative who was in advertising just to
learn more about it and to see if I wanted
to be a copywriter. And he warned me that the
most terrifying thing I'd have to face every day was
a blank page. Like the hardest part of the job
is coming up with fresh ideas every single day. And
at the time, you know, I was cocky and I
(00:25):
just kind of laughed. But if you've ever suffered from
writer's block, you know how daunting just starting a new
project or coming up with new ideas can be.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Oh, definitely. And, you know, I think about somebody like
Harper Lee, of course, from my home state, not everything
has to be about your state of Delaware on the show, Mango. But,
you know, after writing To Kill a Mockingbird, she had
such a hard time writing. And it was it was
almost like she was looking for distractions. And I found
this great quote from her. I'd not seen this before,
(00:53):
but she says, I found I can't write. I have
about 300 personal friends who keep dropping in for a
cup of coffee. I've tried getting up at six, but
then all the six o'clock risers congregate.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, if you've got 300 friends coming over for
a coffee, like, don't make coffee. That's good advice.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Or make a smaller pot.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
But, you know, writer's block is really hard. And I've
always been amazed by, like, the people who can just
crank out copy, like Jerry Seinfeld. Like, do you know
his trick?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
What is it? So Jerry's a prolific writer, and he
was asked how he stayed so productive. And in this
one interview, he confessed he actually hates writing. It's just
that he used to keep a calendar on his wall.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Oh, that's right. Yeah, I think I have heard this
story before. But yeah, keep going.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, and every day he'd write and he'd mark this
big X on the calendar. And his motivation for writing
the next day was just that he wanted to draw
another X and he didn't want to break that chain.
But that made me wonder, like, what are the tips
other geniuses have used to stay productive? Like, can smells
or different clothing or certain tricks help nudge you into
finally writing that great American novel you've always wanted to write? Like,
(01:57):
what are the funniest ways to beat writer's block? And
that's what today's show is all about. Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Hey there, podcast listeners. Welcome to Part-Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson,
and as always, I'm joined by my good friend, Mangesh Hatikader.
And sitting behind the soundproof glass, just furiously working on
his latest manifesto.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
He is one motivated dude.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
He is that. That's our friend and producer, Tristan McNeil. So, Mango,
part of the reason we did this episode was that
you were telling me about how some of the folks
in Hollywood used to deal with writer's block, right?
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, so I was on this website where someone had
pasted an interview from The Hollywood Reporter with Joel and
Ethan Coen, the Coen brothers. And they were talking about
this Hollywood producer named Hal Roach, who's apparently a legend.
I didn't know about him, but he did Laurel and
Hardy and Little Rascals and a bunch of famous movies
and shows. And one of his tricks was when the
(03:09):
writers were running out of ideas, he'd bring someone called
a wildie into the writing room.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
And what's a wildie?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Exactly. So it turns out a wildie is someone Roach
would recruit either from like a mental institution or it
could be just like a drunk off the street. And
he'd bring them in, put them at the writer's table.
And when things were getting stagnant, like at a table
read or a story meeting, he'd Wow. Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
I also think there were a lot of bad ideas
blurted out by the wildies.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I have to imagine, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But, you know, speaking of the Coens, they like to
beat their writer's block just by starting another project. So
while they were trying to write and complete Miller's Crossing,
which is a fabulous film, they actually switched to working
on Barton Fink, and then they just switched back and
forth until they had two scripts instead of just one.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I mean, that's such an interesting way to beat writer's block.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, I mean, I kind of like the idea that, like,
if you can't finish one script, just finish two.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Right, right.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
So where do you want to go from here? All right.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, a very different direction. How about Dan Brown, who
you of course know is the author of The Da
Vinci Code and was reading about some of the ways
that he would deal with writer's block. So just to
keep his blood pumping, he would set an antique hourglass
for every half hour. And when the sand would run out,
he would do a bunch of pushups and stretches, which
actually feels pretty normal, like an interesting way to deal
(04:45):
with it. But when he's really out of ideas, he
does something a little bit more strange. So He slips
into a pair of gravity boots and just hangs upside down,
bat style, in order to work through the problem. I
told you this was a different kind of idea, but
it's actually more complicated than that. So he was giving
this speech at a New Hampshire public radio event, and
(05:05):
he described how he does this. So apparently he has
this specially designed table where he straps himself in, and
then the table rotates around so that his head is
where his feet should be, and his toes are pointing
to the ceiling. And apparently the guy's been doing this
for a while and it actually helped him come up with,
you know, all those anagrams he's used in his books.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
That is so weird. And I honestly feel like having
that much blood rush in my head would make me
less inclined to come up with good ideas.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Totally. That would be the only thing I could think
about is how uncomfortable I was.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
But, I mean, I guess how you brainstorm is pretty personal.
You know, I've read a bunch of people's bios, like
Louis Bunuel, the director. He had this chapter in his
autobiography where he talked about how a certain type of
corner booth in a dark bar and a certain type
of martini... With a very specific vermouth. I think it
was Norley Pratt-like. he would say those were the things
(06:01):
that you need exactly for breaking through writing. And, you know,
you read his description and you think like, this is
so romantic and it feels like such a thing to
do in the city. And you can see how ideas
just flow to him in the setting. But for someone
like me, like I hate writing when I've had even
like a sip of alcohol. It does not work for
me at all.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yeah, I would say the same thing. But, you know, well,
one thing that might work for you if you're looking
for zero distractions is to follow Edgar Allan Poe and Also,
Jack Kerouac's advice for writing on scrolls, Mango.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Scrolls?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Yeah, neither of them thought that it was smart to
get up from your seat and have to go get
another piece of paper. Now, why they couldn't just keep
a bunch of paper near them, I'm not really sure.
But anyway, they felt like getting up to get more
paper would spur these other distractions. So Poe would actually
attach pieces of paper together to make these long spools.
(06:57):
And then he just used some wax to seal it up.
And that's actually how he delivered work to his editors.
Can you imagine this?
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I would be so pissed if someone turned in a
scroll to me.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
And what about Jack Kerouac? Well, it was kind of
the same thing. So he always said that stopping to
get more paper broke his concentration. So on the road,
that was actually scrawled out on a 120-foot roll of paper.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I mean, that feels like it should be in a
museum or something, right? Like, it's pretty incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
You know what my favorite Kerouac fact is?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So this is from when we did the swimsuit issue
for Mental Floss and we found a picture of him
in a bathing suit and just threw some facts next
to it. But it's that he skipped his high school
graduation to read Leaves of Grass, which I.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Just think is so amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Meanwhile, I'm sure I've told you this before, but like
I was forced to attend my high school graduation and
the superintendent of our school read out all the lyrics to,
and I swear this is true, what he referred to
as the classic song from the movie Space Gems.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
What is the classic song from the movie Space Jam?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I believe I can fly.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Oh, of course.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
So we were stuck in our seats and he treated
like every word was so meaningful. Like he was like,
I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch
the sky. Please stop. It was really inspirational. And we
all left the school and became pilots.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Of course you did. All right. Well, back to the facts.
What fact do you want to go with next?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Well, one thing I think could be a cause of
writer's block is when you're too comfortable. My mother-in-law actually
has this story of when she was in college one
summer and she was selling vacuum cleaners. And she said
like on the weeks when she was particularly hungry or
she needed something specific, like on those weeks, she'd somehow
sell four vacuum cleaners. And when she wasn't, she just
sell two or three. And I think it's kind of
(08:51):
the same with writing. And there's this great story from
Sherwood Anderson. In 1906, he quit his job to focus
on writing. And his publishers, who were kind of betting
on him, sent him these weekly advance checks. But he
was having total writer's block. So he actually asked them
to stop. And when they asked him why, he said, quote,
it's no use. I find it impossible to work with
(09:13):
security staring me in the face.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Oh, gosh. That's pretty wild. I think I would find
just the opposite in that situation. I don't know. That's
pretty interesting. Well, so one thing I've read about is
how people love to find the perfect writing spaces. So
Roald Dahl had his writing shed where he'd walk to
and he'd throw a blanket on his legs and write
from an easy chair. That to me seems like a
(09:37):
little bit more of a good spot to do your writing.
And there was some writer, I was trying to remember,
I want to say it was Colin McCann who has
this tiny space on the floor between a bookshelf and
the wall where he sits and types. It's kind of
like a little nook there. But one of the most
unusual spaces I've come across is George Bernard Shaw's. And
in many ways, his writer's hut was full of distractions.
(09:59):
It had electricity and a telephone and a bell so
people could ring for him. But one thing, it had
this advantage of being one or two minutes away from
the house. So when visitors would come over, his wife
could answer the door and actually honestly tell them that
he was out, even though he was just a minute
away or so. But one of the most important things
to Shaw was good lighting. And his hut was actually
(10:22):
pretty ingeniously built because it was like this giant lazy Susan.
So he could actually spin it and follow the sun
as he wrote, which seemed like a pretty cool setup.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh, that's ridiculous, but I like it. Okay. So I
know we've got two more facts to go, but before
we get to those, let's take a little break. Welcome
(10:53):
back to Part-Time Genius. We're talking writer's block. Now, Will,
I know I can struggle with writer's block sometimes, but
do you actually ever deal with it?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Oh, no question. Yeah, it's definitely frustrating when it happens.
So what do you do to deal with it?
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So I like doing my research ahead of time and
getting all the books and things I need. But when
it comes to actually writing, sometimes I have like a
super hard time getting started. if I don't feel like
I have a good enough idea. But then I'd say
like five or six years ago, I read this thing
that Peter Kafka, who's this legendary editor, he told his writers,
and he said, just write out some beginnings. And the
(11:30):
idea was just start something and write a beginning and
then write another beginning to that story and then another.
And even if you have to stop and all you
have is a page of beginnings, isn't that a beautiful thing?
And I love that quote so much. And Somehow that
works for me. Like just, you know, you start three
or four things and pick one that you like and
then just let the words flow from that until they don't.
(11:51):
But that's sort of my trick, even though we're not
here to talk about my trick. So what's your final
fact going to be for this?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
That's still a pretty good trick, though. I don't think
you've ever told me that before. Well, how about something
about Salvador Dali who perfected the power nap?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
So I love napping. So go on.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Well, Dali was obsessed with that dream space between falling
asleep and being awake. So he tried to figure out
how to put himself into that space for inspiration. So
he had a little trick for this. What he would
do is he would sit in a chair and put
a tin plate on the floor and then fall asleep
holding a spoon, like pretty specific. Or maybe have some
(12:31):
keys over the plate or something like that. But when
the object that he was holding dropped from his hand
and onto the tin, he'd get startled awake. And his
hope was that he'd have this new, wonderful idea in
his head when he woke up.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
So that sounds like the worst way to wake up.
It feels like you're almost falling asleep in this comfortable chair,
but it's not really a nap. But I am kind
of amazed. So did it work?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Well, he swore by the method. In fact, in his book,
50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship, he actually writes, here's the quote,
he says, The moment the key drops from your fingers,
you may be sure that the noise of its fall
on the upside-down plate will awaken you. And you may
be equally sure that the fugitive moment when you had
barely lost consciousness, and during which you cannot be assured
(13:16):
of having really slept, is totally sufficient. Inasmuch as not
a second more is needed for your physical and psychic
being to be revivified by just the necessary amount of repose.
So I can't say that I know exactly what that
quote means, but it just sounds weird and fascinating. So Dolly.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yes. Yeah. I mean, Dolly was also afraid of trains
and he used to sit in the front of the
train because he thought it got into places faster. That's right.
He used to make his own cologne out of fish glue.
So I can't say that I trust all his ideas.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
I mean, those seem smart to me.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Well, my last fact is about Charles Dickens, who needed
a few simple things on his desk to inspire him.
So wherever he went, and he often wrote from the road,
he needed five bronze animal statues, a paper knife, a
green vase, a desk calendar... blue ink and only blue
ink and some quills so if you're really struggling to
(14:14):
write something it's probably because you don't have enough quills
or bronze animal statues watching you as you write i imagine.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Sounding a little bit like the steve martin scene in
the jerk where he just needs the ashtray and the
lamp but i'm curious that why blue ink like was
he ocd about writing or what Uh, maybe.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
But, you know, I've actually read it's more because he
realized blue ink at the time dried faster. So it
was this trick he used to keep himself moving and
not smudging or having to blot the pages as much.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Hmm. That's interesting. Well, you know, I'm not sure if
you had the best facts today, but you definitely had
the best story about a terrible graduation speech and everything.
It made me feel a little bit bad for you,
so I'm just going to give you the trophy this week.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
A pity trophy. I like it. You know, I believed
I could fly, and today I did fly.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So thank you. I changed my mind.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Well, that's it for today's episode. From Will, Gabe, Tristan,
and the rest of us at Part-Time Genius, thank you
so much for listening.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Thank you.
Part-Time Genius News
Hosts And Creators
Will Pearson
Mangesh Hattikudur
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