Fiction

Write Place, Write Time: Erica Jong

Liberty Hardy

Senior Contributing Editor

Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading. Twitter: @MissLiberty

I love to write early in the morning when the whole world is quiet except for the birds. Whether in New York City or Connecticut, I get more done between four a.m. and eight a.m. than at any other time during the day. I used to go to Venice to write because it was so peaceful and 6 hours ahead of New York. Now I try to recreate this peace wherever I am. Yoga stretches and alternate nostril breathing help. You want to feel you are still partly in the dream world–not quite awake. Sometimes, I just scribble anything for a time to get going. All writing is surrendering to your dream life. All writing is a form of surrender.

Erica Jong is an award-winning poet, novelist, and memoirist, and one of the nation’s most distinctive voices on women and sexuality. She is the author of the ground-breaking novel Fear of Flying. She can be found on Twitter at @ericajong and on Facebook.