· Frank ·
Balzac once said artistic creation was“an exhausting struggle”．He believed that only by tenacious work and not being afraid of difficulties could you show your talent．It was just like the soldiers charging the fortress，not relaxing your effort even for a moment．
Once Balzac wrote for hours on end， he was so tired that he could not hold out any longer．He ran to a friend’s home and plunged headlong onto the sofa．He wanted to sleep，but he told his friend he must be woken up within an hour．His friend，seeing him so tired，did not wake him up on time．After he woke up，Balzac got very angry at his friend．Fortunately his friend had an intimate understanding of him and did not quarrel with him．
Balzac did not smoke cigarettes，nor did he drink any alcohol. But he got one habit：while he was writing he always drank very strong coffee that could almost anaesthetize his stomach．He didn’t add milk，nor did he add sugar in his coffee．It would not satisfy him until it was made bitter．People generally did not like to drink such bitter coffee．That had a strange stimulus effect on him，and could help him drive the sleepiness away，according to himself．
一場累人的鬥爭
弗蘭克
巴爾紮克曾經說過，藝術創造是“一場累人的鬥爭”。他認為，隻有頑強地工作，不怕困難，才能把自己的才華表現出來。這就好像向堡壘衝擊的戰士，一刻也不能鬆勁。
有一次，巴爾紮克一連寫了好幾個小時，累得實在支持不住了，跑到一個朋友家裏，一頭倒在沙發上。他想睡一覺，但他告訴朋友，一定要在一小時之內叫醒他。他的朋友見他非常疲勞，就沒有按時叫醒他。他醒來後，對朋友大發脾氣。幸好他的朋友很了解他，沒有和他爭吵。
巴爾紮克既不抽煙，也不喝酒。但他有個習慣：當他寫作的時候，總是呷著幾乎可以使胃麻痹的濃咖啡。他的咖啡裏既不加牛奶，也不加糖，要熬得發苦才滿意。像這樣苦的咖啡，一般人都不願意喝。但他卻認為，這樣對他有奇異的刺激作用，可以驅走睡魔。
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