What made you decide to write this non-fiction work? This project was actually pitched to me by Lauren Orthey (LEFT) from Abbeville Press. I’d always wanted to learn more about monks because they’re such an integral part of the period I study, and I also love to learn about the latest science around wellness. It was a perfect fit, so I was happy to say yes.
Click on the below link to purchase How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life by Daniele Cybulskie from Abbeville Press (How to Live Like a Monk)
Can you talk about your experience of researching this non-fiction work? And the dates of when you began researching and when your research was complete? I did much of the research for this book during COVID lockdowns, so a lot of it relied on my own library and the internet. In some ways, I’d been researching this book for years already, so some of the knowledge – and the books and articles – were already in place. More targeted research began as soon as I signed the contract. My process tends to be absorbing a huge amount of information, then writing, then going back to research again to fill gaps. I also continually have my ears open for new research in the field, so the research never really stops.
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http://www.danielecybulskie.com/
What is the date you began writing this piece of non-fiction and the date when you finished writing the piece of non-fiction? The writing part never truly starts until I’ve taken in a lot of information, so I don’t think I started writing until a few months after the contract was signed (so, summer, 2020). With COVID and a bunch of major life events getting in the way, much of the writing was done near the deadline, so in the last couple of months. I finished two weeks late, in February, 2021.
Where did you do most of your writing for this non-fiction work? I usually do the vast majority of my writing at home, although sometimes I go and write in a coffee shop or library. With this book’s creation being entirely within the first year of COVID-19, it was all written at home.
What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I always sketch out my outlines on paper in detail, and that’s what I did for this book. I work out the structure and troubleshoot any problems in content or flow at this point, so that when I sit down at the computer, I’m ready to just write. Any ideas for later, or adjustments that come up as I write at the computer, I jot down in a notebook next to me to deal with later, and then I get back to the writing. I’m not a person who can tune out music very well (especially if I like it!), so I write in the quiet. All of my books have been fueled by tea (Earl Grey, hot).
Please include an excerpt of one FACT or one set of FACTS that you were most impacted by in this non-fiction work. The excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer. “When we think about people being devoted to a singular idea, perhaps there is no better example than that of monks and nuns, cloistering themselves away for life in order to contemplate the divine. In our own lives, we may feel driven by a singular goal—wealth, success, fame, security—to the exclusion of all else, or we may be pulled in a million different directions at once. Modern science has shown us that taking breaks is essential to both our happiness and our success in reaching our goals, and it seems that this is something that medieval monks can teach us as well: taking time out for entertainment, for play, and for the sheer joy of movement makes it possible for us to rededicate ourselves to our pursuits with clear minds and happy hearts.”
Click on the below link to purchase How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life byDaniele Cybulskie from Amazon
Why was this one fact or one set of facts so compelling for you to discover and to write about? Monks are known for an extreme lifestyle with a very narrow focus, but even they have allowances in their rules and ordinances for play, dance, and time off. In Western culture, we’re told to always be hustling, always working, always productive. This is a direct route to burnout, which is something that monks understood 1500 years ago. I think that it’s important to demonstrate that if even monks can take time out to rest, heal, and enjoy themselves, it should show that we can, too, and that it’ll make all aspects of our lives better.
Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. This paragraph is a chapter summary, so by the time I got there, I was feeling pretty sure-footed about what I wanted to say. Nothing was changed or deleted about this paragraph in the end, except the addition of references to Tal Ben-Shahar’s extensive and invaluable work on happiness.
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