I Love Lucy is my all-time favorite television show. Although I wasn’t around for the original airing of the series, I started watching reruns as a young child. I didn’t always get all the jokes back then, but I laughed my head off. Today, no matter how many times I’ve seen each episode, I still laugh my head off.
One of my favorite episodes is from Season Three – “Lucy Writes a Novel” (episode 23). After seeing an advertisement for a writing contest for housewives, Lucy decides to write a novel, much to the amusement of her family and friends. In spite of their lack of confidence, Lucy is determined, saying “The muse is calling, and I must answer.”
As the episode progresses, Lucy provides several lessons on writing. Here are five key lessons a writer can learn from Lucy:
- Write what you know – While exploring new genres and themes can be fun, for most new writers, it’s usually easiest to stick to subjects you know. Lucy centers her story on her romance with Ricky. She includes their best friends, Ethel and Fred Mertz, as characters. Although she takes some creative license, Lucy uses her own experiences as the basis for her story. As Lucy tells Ricky, “That’s what writers do; they take the truth and twist it a little.”
- Backup your work – Ricky, Ethel, and Fred are not happy with the thought of being used as characters, but Lucy refuses to let them read the manuscript. They search the Ricardo’s apartment for the copy of the book. Upon finding it, they use the pages to build a fire. Lucy, the ever wily one, has multiple copies of the novel. Thankfully, today we have the advantage of digital copies on thumb drives or sent to an email account. The moral of Lucy’s story – Don’t forget to back up your work.
- Easy Come, Easy Go – Lucy receives a letter telling her that her novel is being published. But just when she’s getting used to the idea of being an author, the publisher informs her they made a mistake and switched her book with someone else’s. For a writer, sometimes the words flow freely. Other times, it seems like you’ll never think of another coherent sentence again. Sometimes, an author is successful with one book, but the next one flops. Writers need to realize that for every success, there is a setback. But for every setback, there is a chance to jump start a current project or find a new story.
- Dealing With Rejection – When Lucy learns her book will not be published, her initial reaction is “My voice has been stilled!” She goes so far as to make Ricky write the grocery list because she never wants to write anything again. But her attitude quickly changes when the publisher calls to tell her another publisher is interested in using her novel. Lucy stays up all night trying to piece together and retype her manuscript with renewed hope of being published. (Since the show is a comedy, at the end of the episode, Lucy learns the reason the other publisher wants her novel is to use it in a book about writing a novel under the chapter “Don’t Let This Happen To You.”)
Question: What are your favorite literary themed television shows for movies?
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