Doris Lessing: Winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature

The most important thing she has to say about writing

Born in what is today Iran in 1919, Doris Lessing grew up on a farm in what is today Zimbabwe. She moved back to London after the war when no one had any money and things were nothing like they are now, she says.

Doris Lessing was famously offered the honor of becoming a Dame of the British Empire and turned down asking, "Where is the British Empire?" She explained that all of her life, "I did my best to undo that bit of the British Empire I found myself in: that is, old Southern Rhodesia [Zimbabwe]." Her works are filled with a determination to expose the inequalities of colonial rule. 

When TV journalists informed her she'd finally won the Nobel Prize at age 88, a full 40 years after she was first considered for the award, her response went viral around the world: 

Lessing's favorite way to overcoming an impasse in her writing

Whatever you’re meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.” -Doris Lessing

Solutions can come in dreams, Ms. Lessing stated on camera. The most important thing she has to say about writing, she said, is that she got a great deal of help with her books from dreams, particularly in the early days when it wasn't going well. 

She once wrote a story that she felt was totally out of balance and she had no idea how to fix it. But before throwing it away she thought she'd give it one more chance by sleeping on it, as they say.

The method doesn't always work as well as it did that night, but it can work miraculously well.

Furthermore, Doris Lessing noted that pretty much everyone who aspires to be a writer starts out about the same. All are doing good work, but some people stick with it, hone their talent, and go on to complete their works.

It took her 10 years of working very hard before she was able to earn the average wage of a laborer through her writing.

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Other hacks to work through an impasse:
1. Go for a walk.
2. Listen to music.
3. My personal fave, do a headstand or handstand against the wall, as Carl Jung used to do. Being upside down, believe it or not, does wonders for changing one's perspective. It also helps to get over anger and other emotions! 

Free audio book:
"The Golden Notebook" https://bookaudio.online/337-the-golden-notebook.html

In the following video, Ms. Lessing reads the text of her fascinating 1971 article "An Ancient Way to New Freedom." She talks about writing starting at minute 15:00.

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Personal anecdote: I had the incredible fortune to be able to sit down and talk briefly with Ms. Lessing in approximately the year 2000 in Barcelona. What a deep and great soul. She listens attentively, as if seeking to learn from each person's experience in hopes of gaining a fuller understanding of the big picture.

It seemed like providence when in 2007 shortly before she won the Nobel Prize I sought and obtained my first well-known author as an editing client.