In the 1600s, groups of writers would gather for an evening of artistic expression and discussion. Known as a literary academy, the all-men or all-women groups served as a meeting point for sharing topics of philosophy along with art in the drafting process. This column honors that sentiment with thoughts on craft and writing.
Since the middle of April, my life has been in movement. I drove north to take a family member to a major hospital to have a major surgery done. I carted her to doctor’s appointments, making notes and piping in to fill the gaps in her health history. I got groceries. I cooked for the family that came in. I juggled my day job.
I have not written in weeks.
While I love to travel, I hate to lose my sense of routine. Time away from my writing causes me to become fearful that I will never come back to it. That I will grow accustomed to my new routine sans my writing time.
I find all of this interesting because it’s the lulls in my life that allow me to write in the first place.
Natalie Lima once said, “I’ve learned that I can only write when my life is peaceful—when my bills are paid, when I’m not aching over a romance, when my life is quiet. Frankly, I can only write when my life is a bit boring.” For me to enter flow, I need a sense of comfort. I’m unhindered by dating or waiting for a text (Thank God). The humdrum allows my thoughts to wander.
Tom Hanks, when facing difficult moments in life, tells himself, “This, too, shall pass.” There will come a time soon when I will have my routine again. And I will be grateful for the break from writing. Because frequently, getting those breaks allows me a sharper edge when coming back to revise and edit. I feel calmer, clearer. I tell my students to put a draft away and come back to it after a few weeks, a month at least. It’s about time I take my own advice.
Book Recommendation
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
Give me a murder mystery set in a prestigious New England boarding school and I’m hooked. Makkai’s latest novel is about Bodie, an alum of Granby back to teach a class and secretly dig into the murder of her roommate twenty years earlier. Written from Bodie’s perspective to the person she believes is killer who got away, this novel examines the things said and unsaid, the subtle hints of truth that we miss. There is also an element of complication from the MeToo movement and the repercussions it can take on those in the crossfire. It’s a riveting page-turner.
Yes, indeed--the saying goes one either lives or writes, can’t do both.
This was "write on time" for me...I just ended a long-term relationship and moved and I've been in a wordless rabbit hole for about 6 weeks. Reading this helped me to breath a little easier. Animals and nature herself have cycles. Why not writers?