A Slight Delay

Just the same as nobody writes in a vacuum, nobody writes for a vacuum, either. Nobody writes for the sake of not being read. Nobody–at least no one that I know–writes something with the fervent hope that it’s overlooked or ignored.

So who are we writing for? Who’s your audience, your adoring public? Many people who create–whether for a living, or just on impulse–will tell you that they’re doing it primarily for themselves, and that’s a good starting point. After all, if what you’re doing doesn’t even interest you, why bother? Having said that, I think most people who write do it on some level in order to reach a wider audience; stuff that’s written primarily to please one’s self ends up reading as though it was written that way (ie. bloated, self-indulgent). (more…)

The dishwasher is the bane of creativity. Just my personal opinion, mind you, but one based on years of evidence. Seeing neatly regimented rows of mugs, bowls, dinner plates and silverware represents lost opportunities; for me, there’s no better time for thinking than when you’re elbows-deep in suds. You could say that dishpan hands and creativity go together like peanut butter and jelly.

It’s not that there’s an insane amount of concentration going on; it’s rather the opposite. It doesn’t take all that much concentration to do dishes, so your mind is generally letting something else brew while you’re getting those caked-on bits of oatmeal off your bowls. I won’t say that every dishwashing experience has produced Isaac Newton-quality stuff, but what I have gotten over the years has been useful, sometimes even startling, and usually better than what I come up with when I sit there straining over it.

Now, for you it could be something different. Some people have their a-ha moments in the shower (singing “Take On Me” doesn’t count, by the way), while gardening, or in the course of doing any number of usefully mindless things. They’re a good way to overcome mental blocks, whether it’s a creative block or a problem that stubbornly resists solving no matter how hard you’ve tried. And, lest this sound like some kind of new-agey crap, there’s actually scientific evidence to back it up. (more…)

Chance favors the prepared observer. –Marcel Duchamp

One of the problems you’ll run into, if you haven’t already, is the “writer’s block” dilemma. The reason for last week’s assingnment, besides getting you outside your comfort zone, is because most of us fancy ourselves a certain “kind” of writer. I’m a poet. I don’t “do” nonfiction.

There’s nothing wrong with specialization. After all, you’ll probably get more out of your writing if your subject is one that you know and love. But sometimes you’ll feel tapped out, as though you’ve said about all you can say just then on a given subject, or you talk yourself out of writing on something because even though you know it, you know someone out there knows it better. There’s a lot to be said for just using whatever’s close at hand, whatever grabs you in the moment, and running with it. (more…)