Call it what you will – nude, buff, starkers, exposed, unclothed, au naturel, in the altogether, buck naked.
I prefer to say, “in the bare scud.”
Why am I writing about this? Well, apparently some classic authors had a tendency to get naked in order to write.
CREATIVITY IN THE BARE SCUD?
In a 2012 article in the Guardian, Robert McCrum writes of singers who access creativity by being naked and talks of all the different ways us writers do the nasty.
“Do the nasty” means write, just in case you were thinking something else.
Writing naked is actually something a bunch of authors have allegedly done before.
D. H. Lawrence climbed up trees naked all the time because why not?
James Whitcomb Riley would write naked because you can’t go to a bar naked, therefore being nude increased his productivity.
This probably should be a rule about the internet too. Because we’d all be way more productive if we could just be like, “I SHALL TAKE OFF MY CLOTHES AND THEREFORE NOT BE ABLE TO GO ON THE INTERWEBS.”
Agatha Christie would hang out in her bathtub to think up writing ideas. That counts.
An old Galley Cat post by Maryann Yin states that, “Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence, James Whitcomb Riley, Edmond Rostand, Benjamin Franklin, and Agatha Christie” all wrote naked. That’s a whole lot of naked writers.
Being naked isn’t an easy thing for many of us. It’s vulnerable and fragile. It’s our body’s raw state, natural state and yet…
It feels a little weird in the American society, right? But if we think about it a little more deeply, it becomes a cool metaphor.
To write naked might mean to write clearly, cleanly so you can see every word, line, paragraph and theme.
To write naked might mean to write truth, to expose your self and your society to the eyes of your readers.
So, you can totally write naked with your clothes on. You don’t have to do a Victor Hugo. Just expose yourself to your readers (in a legal non-creepy way) by exposing the inner truths and passions of your characters and theme.
The best stories are the stories were the authors are passionate about saying something, communicating something. And yes, that really requires us to be a bit emotionally naked.
WRITING NEWS
ENHANCED, the follow-up to FLYING is here! And the books are out of this world. Please buy them and support a writer.
The last TIME STOPPERS BOOK is out and I love it. You should buy it because it’s empowering and about friendship and bias and magic. Plus, dragons and elves.
How to Get Signed Copies:
If you would like to purchase signed copies of my books, you can do so through the awesome Sherman’s Book Store in Bar Harbor, Maine or the amazing Briar Patch. The books are also available online at places like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
For signed copies – email barharbor@shermans.com for Sherman’s or email info@briarpatchbooks.comand let them know the titles in which you are interested. There’s sometimes a waiting list, but they are the best option. Plus, you’re supporting an adorable local bookstore run by some really wonderful humans. But here’s the Amazon link, too!
Art Stuff
You can buy prints of my art here. Thank you so much for supporting my books and me and each other. I hope you have an amazing day.
A new episode of Dogs are Smarter Than People, the quirky podcast with writing tips, life tips and a random thought came out yesterday! Check it out, like and subscribe!