You thought writers just sip lattes and type away like serene little wordsmiths?
Nope. Turns out, some of the greatest authors were total oddballs.
And yes, we’re talking about people who wrote naked (because their clothes were literally hidden), guzzled enough coffee to legally qualify as a biohazard, or lounged in coffins before penning literary gold.
In this post, we’re spilling the bizarre, hilarious, and slightly unhinged habits of 20 famous writers. Whether you’re here to judge, relate, or just procrastinate on your own creative project, you’re going to love this roundup of literary weirdness.
20. Victor Hugo (19th century) – To overcome procrastination, Hugo resorted to an extreme ritual: he gathered up all his clothes and ordered a servant to hide them so he couldn’t go outside. Wrapped only in a large gray shawl, he wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in solitude, a bizarre but effective habit that kept him focused and away from the temptations of Parisian nightlife.
19. Honoré de Balzac (19th century) – Balzac fueled his prodigious output with caffeine to a legendary degree, reportedly drinking 50 cups of coffee a day while writing. This excessive coffee habit stands out for its sheer volume – an attempt to power his brain through marathon writing sessions (and indeed he barely slept while crafting La Comédie Humaine).
18. Alexandre Dumas (19th century) – The author of The Three Musketeers had a peculiar color-coding habit: he wrote different types of work on different colored paper. Fiction went on blue paper, poetry on yellow, and articles on pink – a quirky organizational system that Dumas believed even affected the quality of his writing (he once blamed a story’s issues on having to use the “wrong” color paper).
17. Charles Dickens (19th century) – Dickens was famously superstitious about orientation; he slept facing north and even carried a compass to ensure it. He believed this habit improved his creativity and writing, reflecting a quirky attempt to channel positive energy – fitting for an author whose imaginative worlds, from A Christmas Carol to Great Expectations, continue to enchant readers.
16. Friedrich Schiller (18th–19th century) – The German poet had an unusually smelly source of inspiration: he kept rotten apples decaying in his desk drawer. Whenever his muse faltered, Schiller would inhale the apples’ “sweet, rancid mustiness,” a bizarre sensory jolt that, according to contemporaries, “jolted his brain into activity” and sparked his creativity.
15. Mark Twain (19th century) – Twain did much of his writing propped up in bed, often with cats lounging nearby. In fact, he loved feline company so much that while traveling he would “rent” cats to keep him company, borrowing local kittens and even naming them during his stays. This endearing habit of surrounding himself with cats is as quirky as it is heartwarming, reflecting the famed humorist’s belief that a purring companion was the perfect writing buddy.
14. Colette (20th century) – The French novelist Colette began each morning’s writing session with a decidedly odd routine: grooming her pet. She would methodically pick fleas off her beloved bulldog before putting pen to paper. This quirky ritual provided a calming, tactile start to her day – an intimate, down-to-earth prelude to the creative work that made her one of France’s literary icons.
13. Agatha Christie (20th century) – The Queen of Crime did some of her best plotting in the tub. Christie would relax in a warm bath while munching on apples, letting her mind wander through murder and mystery as she soaked. This unconventional habit stands out for its cozy strangeness – inspiring grisly whodunits from the comfort of a bathtub, apple in hand, clearly paid off in her 60+ detective novels.
12. James Joyce (20th century) – Near-blind by middle age, Joyce developed a unique writing setup to keep working on his modernist epics. He wrote lying on his stomach in bed, using a giant blue pencil and wearing a white coat to reflect extra light onto the page. This peculiar habit – essentially a homemade solution to his failing eyesight – is memorable for its visual oddity and for how it enabled the creation of Finnegans Wake and other classics.
11. Truman Capote (20th century) – Capote described himself as “a completely horizontal author” and had a host of superstitions. He insisted on writing supine (often lying in bed or on a couch) and never began or ended a work on a Friday. He also kept no more than three cigarette butts in his ashtray at once – any extras went into his coat pocket. These quirky rules and rituals gave the In Cold Blood author a sense of control and “curious comfort,” however irrational they might seem.
10. Jack Kerouac (20th century) – Kerouac’s legend is cemented by the marathon writing of On the Road. Fueled by coffee and stimulants, he famously typed the novel on a 120-foot continuous roll of paper, so he’d never have to pause to change sheets. In a three-week burst of creativity, he fed this scroll into his typewriter and let the words pour out unbroken. This habit stands out for its wild, relentless energy – perfectly capturing the freewheeling spirit of the Beat Generation.
9. Edith Sitwell (20th century) – According to literary lore, the British poet Dame Edith Sitwell would start her day by lying in an open coffin for a few minutes before writing. Though likely apocryphal, this gothic habit – essentially napping in a coffin for inspiration – is one of literature’s most famous quirky rituals. Real or not, it underscores Sitwell’s theatrical personality and her flair for the dramatic, making the story as memorable as her poetry.
8. Dr. Seuss (20th century) – Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, kept an enormous collection of hats and used them to jump-start his imagination. When writer’s block struck, he’d don a whimsical hat from his closet and wear it until inspiration returned. This playful habit is as offbeat and fun as the tongue-twisting tales he wrote – a visual, childlike trick to get creativity flowing that clearly worked for the creator of The Cat in the Hat.
7. John Steinbeck (20th century) – Steinbeck wrote his drafts longhand and had an almost obsessive pencil ritual: he always kept exactly 24 sharpened pencils on his desk. He was extremely particular about pencil brand and sharpening method, rotating through them as he wrote. This quirky precision stands out as an insight into the Nobel laureate’s work ethic – a small ritual that gave him comfort and focus while crafting sweeping novels like The Grapes of Wrath.
6. Maya Angelou (20th century) – Rather than write at home, Angelou did her work in sparse hotel rooms, creating a controlled creative space. She’d leave her house around 6 AM and hole up in a bare hotel room with only a legal pad, a Bible, a dictionary, a thesaurus, playing cards, and a bottle of sherry as companions. Writing in solitude until early afternoon, she found this neutral, unadorned environment freed her mind – a unique habit that highlights her discipline and dedication to the craft (with a small celebratory glass of sherry when the words finally flowed).
5. Virginia Woolf (20th century) – Woolf took an unusual physical approach to writing: she wrote at a standing desk about 3½ feet high. Like a painter stepping back from a canvas, this allowed her to frequently step away and view her work from a new perspective. The habit was partly inspired by rivalry with her artist sister, but it clearly paid off – giving Woolf a literally elevated vantage point from which she crafted literary masterpieces like Mrs. Dalloway, long before standing desks were trendy.
4. Dan Brown (21st century) – The bestselling thriller author has a head-spinning technique to shake loose ideas: he wears gravity boots and hangs upside down like a bat when he needs to clear his mind. Brown revealed that in addition to regular push-up and sit-up breaks every hour, this inverted thinking time helps him relax and let creativity flow. It’s a quirky modern habit that shows even amid high-tech success, sometimes the best way to solve a plot is to flip your perspective – literally – and let the “wow” moments come.
3. Haruki Murakami (21st century) – Murakami’s routine is less bizarre than admirably rigorous. The acclaimed Japanese novelist keeps a strict daily schedule when writing: up at 4:00 AM to write for 5-6 hours, then an afternoon run of 10 km (or swim), followed by early bedtime. He treats writing like an endurance sport, maintaining this disciplined routine every day, which stands out for its marathon-runner level of commitment – a habit that fans find inspiring as it reflects the depth of focus behind his surreal, mesmerizing stories.
2. Isabel Allende (21st century) – Allende infuses a touch of mysticism into her creative process by starting every new book on the same date: January 8th. She began her first novel on that day in 1981, and after it became a success, she made it a personal tradition to commence all her books on 1/8, secluding herself to dive into writing. This ritualistic habit stands out for its superstition and optimism – Allende believes this consistency invites good luck and signals to the muse (and her family) that a new imaginative journey is beginning.
1. George R.R. Martin (21st century) – In an age of sleek tech, Martin famously works on a DOS-based computer running WordStar 4.0, a word processor from the 1980s. He keeps this antiquated machine offline and uses the old software because it does exactly what he needs and nothing more. This habit is striking for its contrariness to modern convenience – by avoiding internet distractions and annoying auto-corrections, the Game of Thrones author maintains a focused, old-school writing environment that hardcore fans find both amusing and oddly reassuring
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