It's not the most common trope in movies about writers, but it is common enough to be a trope. What is it? It's the bet, the wager, that an author can whip out a novel in a limited amount of time when given the proper place and the proper incentive.
One of the best examples is the star-riddled comedy murder story The House of Long Shadows. Featuring the classic horror talents of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, and John Carradine -- as well as the teen heartthrob Desi Arnez Jr. -- it's hard to imagine it not being amazing (or at least a wink-and-a-nod, tongue-in-cheek pastiche of classic horror tropes).
Arnez plays novelist Kenneth Magee, an author of contemporary novels who feels they greatly outweigh the quality and humanity of classic Gothic literature. While discussing the idea with his publisher, they indulge in the following conversation.
Sam Allyson: When I think of Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, where are they all now I ask myself?
Kenneth Magee: I think they're dead, Sam.
Sam Allyson: You know what I mean. They dealt with people, human passions on the grand scale.
Kenneth Magee: People have different behavior patterns now. They just don't go around acting like they're out of Wuthering Heights.
Sam Allyson: Are you trying to tell me that Wuthering Heights with all its brooding intensity, isn't as involving and real as a contemporary novel?
Kenneth Magee: It's over the top. I mean anyone can write one of those things. It's just a question of letting your imagination go bananas. Jesus! You want that kind of novel? I can knock it off for you in 24 hours.
Sam Allyson: That I don't believe.
Kenneth Magee: $10,000.
Sam Allyson: Oh come now.
Kenneth Magee: $10,000, I'll bet you.
Sam Allyson: Kenneth I rea...
Kenneth Magee: $20,000.
This scene sets up the general conceit of the film. Magee and Allyson shake on the bet, and Magee suddenly has 24 hours to knock out a true-to-form gothic romance. All he needs is a place that is conducive to telling the story, a place that gives him ambience, gives him solitude, and gives him peace and quiet. Again, his publisher comes to his rescue.
Kenneth Magee: All I need is somewhere I can have total isolation, and above all atmosphere.
Sam Allyson: Well there's this friend of mine, he's got a property in Wales, I gather it's in the process of being sold. How do you fancy an old manner house? Hasn't been lived in for years, it's certainly an isolated part of the country, as for atmosphere...
Kenneth Magee: Sounds great.
Sam Allyson: Now hold on, dear boy, I mean, it really has been empty for over 40 years. There'll be no electricity...
Kenneth Magee: Even better, I can type by candlelight.
Sam Allyson: You're joking.
Kenneth Magee: It's perfect for what I've got in mind. I'm telling you it's perfect, Sam, fix it for me, will ya?
Sam Allyson: You're mad, still if that's what you want, I'll give him a ring and try to arrange it, just as soon as I get back to the office.
Kenneth Magee: I can't wait to get started.
Sam Allyson: 24 hours remember, that means you deliver me a completed manuscript here, no later than, allowing you traveling time there and back, 3 o' clock Saturday afternoon.
Kenneth Magee: I'll be here.
After this, Magee travels to Bllyddpaetwr Manor to begin and complete the novel. Only, a true comedy of terrors seeks to distract him. These include a beautiful woman, a group of old folks who claim to be the true owners of the house, and a mysterious man who claims to be a potential buyer of the property. Of course, not one of them is exactly (or even close to being) who they claim to be.
From there, the movie becomes a series of murders and twists and turns (and more than a few red herrings).
But, back to the purpose of this review. What can we discern about the writing life?
Old Isn't Relevant
Let's go back to the first quote from above:
Sam Allyson: When I think of Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, where are they all now I ask myself?
Kenneth Magee: I think they're dead, Sam.
Sam Allyson: You know what I mean. They dealt with people, human passions on the grand scale.
Kenneth Magee: People have different behavior patterns now. They just don't go around acting like they're out of Wuthering Heights.
It's the age-old seesaw of "the classics don't matter" vs. "only the classics matter." One groups reads nothing but contemporary novels and dismisses the voices of the "dead white men" and the other dismisses anything not accepted as canon by the literary elite. The truth lies, as with most things, in the middle. I see it all the time with writers, whom I would think would most value our rich history of stories. It's one of the reasons I love seeing the curriculums adapting and updating for high school and college Literature classes to include both old and new together.
The Importance of Place
I'm not talking about the setting here when I use the word place. I'm talking about a place for writing. And not just a place that works among other places that work, but THE place that becomes the only place that works.
As much as I love to write at my MeMe's house (as I'm mentioned so many times here on this blog) I know that one day it will no longer belong to my family and that I'll need to find another place for when I need a "writer retreat." No matter how well I can write there, there is no such thing as a magic spot.
Kenneth Magee: All I need is somewhere I can have total isolation, and above all atmosphere.
The most prolific and efficient writers I know can write anywhere and everywhere. Not only that, they're always prepared. They can work with access to a notebook, a tablet, a phone with a bluetooth keyboard, or a laptop. The work is the deal, not the idealness of the place one is writing.
I'm not that person, however, and I find that place does matter to me, but when it gets down to it, I can really crank out the words almost anywhere. I prefer the coffee shop, I can write at home, or on my couch, or at work during lunches. I've even been known to knock out words during downtime at a convention.
Can you imagine a painter who could only paint in a certain room or in a certain meadow? What about an electrician who could only work in one-room buildings?
Having a preference is fine, but if place shuts you down totally, then there might be a problem to work on.
Challenge Yourself
Just as the bet between Magee and Allyson gives our hero the impetus to knock out a novel quickly, I daresay that issuing yourself a challenge is a wonderful way to get around your dry spell or lack of inspiration.
Sam Allyson: 24 hours remember, that means you deliver me a completed manuscript here, no later than, allowing you traveling time there and back, 3 o' clock Saturday afternoon.
I did a little something similar myself just this past Summer. After factoring out a few days for family vacation and a few days to recover from teaching, I had 6 1/2 weeks left before school started again to finish my first novel. (Yes, 30 years of writing and just now hitting a first novel). And you know what? I did it. I rose to the challenge. Granted, that 6 1/2 draft needed several rounds of solid, painful editing but what manuscript doesn't? Not only did I challenge myself to write my first actual novel, but I also gave myself a deadline that seemed highly unlikely for a first-time novelist.
The point is to challenge yourself to push beyond what you think you're capable of doing.
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