tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post5915504380760127661..comments2023-10-12T11:37:47.156-04:00Comments on ABSURDIST PARADISE: Taking a Sick Day from My LifeEarnest Englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01947000435270263070noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post-19090117878476589862010-07-04T14:30:34.963-04:002010-07-04T14:30:34.963-04:00Sometimes I just have the creative writing mojo an...Sometimes I just have the creative writing mojo and sometimes I don't. When I feel the mojo, though, I tend to drop everything else and devote myself to the new project for awhile. Not sure that's a good approach, but I don't know how else to do it. What I do know is that I feel better when I make the time to write, even if it's just a little here and a little there...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post-32644200253099130102010-07-02T12:27:08.285-04:002010-07-02T12:27:08.285-04:00there's a huge strain of creative writing talk...<i>there's a huge strain of creative writing talk that is about the *mystery* of writing, the *inspiration* of it, the muse striking.</i><br /><br />Dude. I hear you. I HATE that shit. The big newspaper AWP journal is all about the mystery and I so don't have time for that kind of nonsense. <br /><br />I can offer you only my own, very anecdotal, perspective: critical writing happens when the butt is applied to the chair. Creative stuff takes reflection, running, good food, gardening, and happens very, very slowly. And I've made my peace with it, in part because if I force the creative stuff, it becomes heavy-handed and artless. But then, my creative stuff is poetry, and it lends itself to slow progress; and I don't know nothin' about no creative prose writing, so I don't know whether that, too, requires the kind of butt-in-chair stamina that critical prose does for me. <br /><br />I have a friend who, in his late 30s, as a father of 3 and a community college dean, took up cello. He wakes every morning at 5 to practice for 2 hours. He's pretty amazing. I said, "I'd have loved to learn cello, but I think I no longer have the time to learn." And he said, "You make time for what you want to, and you choose to dump some things in sacrifice." I'm not waking up at 5 for anything, but I include the things that I MUST do every day (critical writing, cooking, playing with kids, running and its attendant creative writing), and have stopped worrying about all the stuff I could/should be doing. <br /><br />Don't know how helpful that perspective is, but I feel some power knowing that I get to call the shots on my day.Renaissance Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06243095907452011303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post-22296893718948801992010-07-01T15:57:00.637-04:002010-07-01T15:57:00.637-04:00I just found your blog and I totally understand th...I just found your blog and I totally understand the desire to balance work (do scholarship), write (creatively) and do all of the other things that are required to maintain a life. Have you seen Laura Vanderkam's new book "168 Hours: You have more time that you think"? Her blog is at http://www.my168hours.com/ and I've found her strategies have helped me do more with each week. Still not writing creatively as often as I would like, but now I'm making the most of a maternity leave by reading and doing a few projects while making time for things I really enjoy, when last time around those months just disappeared somewhere...Caleehttp://twitter.com/caleelnoreply@blogger.com