Willa Cather (1873-1947)
In 1921, an editor of the Bookman visited Cather in her Greenwich Village apartment to discuss the author’s recent publications–which included a new collection of short stories and, a few years earlier, the third of her “Prairie Trilogy” novels, My Ántonia–as well as her writing routine and habits. “I work from two and a half to three hours a day,” Cather told him.
I don’t hold myself to longer hours; if I did, I wouldn’t gain by it. The only reason I write is because it interests me more than any other activity I’ve ever found. I like riding, going to operas and concerts, travel in the west; but on the whole writing interests me more than anything else. If I made a chore of it, my enthusiasm would die. I make it an adventure every day. I get more entertainment from it than any I could buy, except the privilege of hearing a few great musicians and singers. To listen to them interests me as much as a good morning’s work.
For me the morning is the best time to write. During the other hours of the day I attend to my housekeeping, take walks in Central Park, go to concerts, and see something of my friends. I try to keep myself fit, fresh; one has to be in as good form to write as to sing. When not working, I shut work from my mind.
* Source: Daily Rituals by Mason Currey