Novelist Rosa Lind wrote three books before breakfast. She shares the habit, the train she can’t miss, and why you should finish badly.
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Rosa Lind wrote her first three novels between five and seven in the morning, before her shift at the library. We talk about protecting creative time, stopping mid-sentence and finishing things.
Finish badly. A finished bad draft can be fixed.
Rosa Lind
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Maya Welcome back to The Long Way Round. Rosa Lind wrote her first three novels before her day job began.
Rosa Before the coffee kicked in, usually. Half of my best sentences were written by someone who wasn’t fully awake.
Maya Why the early morning? Plenty of people would choose the evening.
Rosa By the evening, the day has already had its say. At five, nobody has asked anything of me yet. The page gets the first word.
Rosa I treat it like a train I can’t miss. And I stop mid-sentence, so tomorrow I know exactly where to begin.
Rosa Finish badly. A finished bad draft can be fixed. A perfect first page cannot be published.
