# Don't write; just sit.



## Bilston Blue (Dec 1, 2011)

I wanted to share this. It's an essay from a monthly e-newsletter I receive from Glimmer Train, a quarterly fiction anthology published in the US. Not only is it a lovely piece of writing, I found, but it struck a chord with me. The number of times I've devoted time to thinking about my writing instead of thinking about it while I'm driving, or in the shower, or doing something else; or just let the thoughts come to me--I barely do it and yet I know it's important. The essay is by a young author called Daniel Torday.



> *A Portrait of a Writer as a Young Parent*​
> A number of years ago when I was working on a novel to finish the MFA I was taking up in Central New York, my advisor was a certain platinum-haired writer whose short stories I'd always loved. The year before, she had been nominated for the National Book Award for her most recent novel. I'd been slow to coming around to the idea of spending three years only writing, but now here I was—meeting monthly with one of my favorite writers, my only responsibility finishing a novel. She was funny and genius and genuine and suffice it to say that whatever she suggested, that I did.
> 
> Immediately.
> ...


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## Offeiriad (Dec 2, 2011)

I'm going to have to give that a try. Just sit and think. I don't have a baby nor one I could borrow. However... there is the hospital I volunteer at on Fridays. Hmmmm...


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## Bloggsworth (Dec 2, 2011)

I never force myself to write, but then I don't have to, I write because I do. Ideas come to me when they will, in the shower, shopping, driving across London, whenever - the trick is to remember them, or remember them at least long enough to write down. I did, for a while, take the view that if the idea was good enough, I would remember it - Wrong! I lost a few good ideas that way. When it came to daughters, I never read a book on childcare, attended a pre-birth class, or a post natal one come to that - We were designed to have childrem, it is the natural state of humanity, so I let nature take its course. If I wanted her to go to sleep I would lean back and lie her on my stomach, my resting pulse is around 50, and I breath slowly,  so she was soon asleep and my mind free to roam. Interestingly, my wife never heard her if she cried in the night, so I would take care of her - More time to daydream, rather, nightdream...


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## Olly Buckle (Dec 2, 2011)

Weeding, it's mindless, ideal for thinking. Potting on isn't bad either.


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## Kyle R (Dec 2, 2011)

Excellent. Off I go to steal someone's baby. : D

Kind of Zen-like, wouldn't you say? An activity with a meditative quality to it.

I believe writing, creatively at least, stems from a lack of urgency. The more you try to force it, the more it pulls away, like a shy creature. It's only when you ignore it completely that it feels neglected and jumps into your lap, demanding to be noticed.


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## Tiamat (Dec 3, 2011)

I find that sitting outside on the porch, watching the cars go by, has that effect on me.  As for what to do with my hands, well, I'm a smoker.  Sitting and thinking about my characters is sometimes an expensive habit.


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## moderan (Dec 3, 2011)

Olly Buckle said:


> Weeding, it's mindless, ideal for thinking. Potting on isn't bad either.


I thought 'twas "weed" not "weeding" that did that. Either way, one has lucid intervals.


KyleColorado said:


> Excellent. Off I go to steal someone's baby. : D
> 
> Kind of Zen-like, wouldn't you say? An activity with a meditative quality to it.
> 
> I believe writing, creatively at least, stems from a lack of urgency. The more you try to force it, the more it pulls away, like a shy creature. It's only when you ignore it completely that it feels neglected and jumps into your lap, demanding to be noticed.



Therefore, I submit, writing is like cats.



Tiamat10 said:


> I find that sitting outside on the porch, watching the cars go by, has that effect on me.  As for what to do with my hands, well, I'm a smoker.  Sitting and thinking about my characters is sometimes an expensive habit.


I quit smoking. Instead, I watch cats. They don't stay lit as long as cigarettes, and are arguably not as bad for you. They will sit on the porch and watch cars with you.


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## Olly Buckle (Dec 3, 2011)

> I thought 'twas "weed" not "weeding" that did that. Either way, one has lucid intervals.


Weeding on weed and potting on on pot then?   Grass cutting doesn't work though, too active and noisy.


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## moderan (Dec 3, 2011)

Olly Buckle said:


> I thought 'twas "weed" not "weeding" that did that. Either way, one has lucid intervals.


Tonight, on It's the Mind...we examine the fascinating phenomenon of Deja Vu...sorry, Olly, but it was right there in front of me.


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## The Backward OX (Dec 3, 2011)

Olly Buckle said:


> Potting on isn't bad either.


Surely one would need to be employed in a commercial nursery for potting on to become mindless? When I do it, my mind is filled with all the variables. Is the proportion of potting mix to soil correct? Are the roots well=spread? Have I used the right-sized pot? Is the tie on the stake secure? And so on.


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## Gumby (Dec 3, 2011)

Porch sitting is great, especially if you have a warm and furry animal to mindlessly stroke. Dogs or cats work good here, horses, not so much.  Warm showers are perfect for reciting poetry you are working on, great accoustics. Though you may get strange looks from your family when you finally get out of the shower.


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## Robdemanc (Dec 3, 2011)

I can often just sit and think without doing anything else.


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## Olly Buckle (Dec 3, 2011)

> I can often just sit and think without doing anything else.


I can do it without even thinking sometimes.


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## Olly Buckle (Dec 3, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> Surely one would need to be employed in a commercial nursery for potting on to become mindless? When I do it, my mind is filled with all the variables. Is the proportion of potting mix to soil correct? Are the roots well=spread? Have I used the right-sized pot? Is the tie on the stake secure? And so on.



I suppose there is an element of that. I am thinking of when I plant out a tray of something like tomatoes, I end up with forty cubes, most of which have a tomato plant in, I mix up a big heap of compost, then pot them on into three inch pots. A bit later, when they are established, I chose the dozen best for myself and give the rest away. That gets me 100% good plants and a reputation for generosity, which means people save pots for me.


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## Robdemanc (Dec 3, 2011)

Olly Buckle said:


> I can do it without even thinking sometimes.



Oh yeah I can do that one too


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## Gamer_2k4 (Dec 3, 2011)

I had a special biking route I'd take when I wanted to do some deep thinking.  Normally, I go anywhere from 15-25 MPH when riding, not because I have any place to go, but because it just feels wasteful to not go as fast as I can.  However, the evenings when I wanted to consider my story, I'd head off the trail and follow a country road all the way to its end.  I'd shift my bike into the lowest gear so I could just pedal without going anywhere, and as I passed meadows and ponds, I let the sounds of nature envelope me in an ambiance perfect for thoughtful contemplation.  Some of my best ideas came on trips like that.  It's very peaceful, and it solves the problem of what to do with both your hands AND your legs.


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## The Backward OX (Dec 3, 2011)

Robdemanc said:


> I can often just sit and think without doing anything else.





Olly Buckle said:


> I can do it without even thinking sometimes.





Robdemanc said:


> Oh yeah I can do that one too



And TBO makes three. It's a really _magic_ way to spend an evening.


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## moderan (Dec 3, 2011)

So then the logical next point is the achievement of photosynthesis?


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## Gamer_2k4 (Dec 4, 2011)

moderan said:


> So then the logical next point is the achievement of photosynthesis?



There are people who haven't done that yet?


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## candid petunia (Dec 4, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> And TBO makes three. It's a really _magic_ way to spend an evening.


I can, too. Just sit and think, or not think, depending on my mood. Listen to the silence and feel the magic around, or look into my own soul and connect with the world.


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## moderan (Dec 4, 2011)

candid petunia said:


> I can, too. Just sit and think, or not think, depending on my mood. Listen to the silence and feel the magic around, or look into my own soul and connect with the world.


I can't do that. The abyss stares back.


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