Oct 23, 2023·edited Oct 23, 2023Liked by Fernanda Santos
Midway in life's journey I found myself in the dark wood, and then I discovered precisely what you are describing in this wonderful post. Writing in confined spaces!
Several decades ago, I was serving as a senior administrator at a university, in the middle of several are extremely challenging writing assignments, and often submitting opinion pieces to a bunch of newspapers around the country.
Until I wasn't.
Oh, I kept up the appearance of productivity but I also discovered just how easily I was distracted by almost anything. The best I could do was play music in the background and try to dig deeper.
Then one day, I was sitting in a chair in my basement. And I slowly began to make friends with silence. After a while, I thought to myself: wow, being in this confined space is not incarceration, it is absolute liberation. So -- and I know this is a little weird -- I blocked off one very small corner of the room with dividers. And began writing while walled off in a very small space with nothing to look at and nothing to hear (except my own voice).
This is in no way a recommendation. Everyone find their own way. And the way I chose would certainly be horrifying to some people.
But ever since, a tucked away confining space has been my secret when it comes to big writing projects. I'm not a hermit. I love even the most raucous give-and-take with friends and family and colleagues.
But, almost by accident, I stumbled upon the joy of hiding.
Thanks so much for sharing this story, Steve. I love how you described the feeling of discovering productivity in your confined writing space as stumbling upon "the joy of hiding."
Midway in life's journey I found myself in the dark wood, and then I discovered precisely what you are describing in this wonderful post. Writing in confined spaces!
Several decades ago, I was serving as a senior administrator at a university, in the middle of several are extremely challenging writing assignments, and often submitting opinion pieces to a bunch of newspapers around the country.
Until I wasn't.
Oh, I kept up the appearance of productivity but I also discovered just how easily I was distracted by almost anything. The best I could do was play music in the background and try to dig deeper.
Then one day, I was sitting in a chair in my basement. And I slowly began to make friends with silence. After a while, I thought to myself: wow, being in this confined space is not incarceration, it is absolute liberation. So -- and I know this is a little weird -- I blocked off one very small corner of the room with dividers. And began writing while walled off in a very small space with nothing to look at and nothing to hear (except my own voice).
This is in no way a recommendation. Everyone find their own way. And the way I chose would certainly be horrifying to some people.
But ever since, a tucked away confining space has been my secret when it comes to big writing projects. I'm not a hermit. I love even the most raucous give-and-take with friends and family and colleagues.
But, almost by accident, I stumbled upon the joy of hiding.
Steve
Thanks so much for sharing this story, Steve. I love how you described the feeling of discovering productivity in your confined writing space as stumbling upon "the joy of hiding."
We are enough. Thanks
Always here to remind you (and me) of that.
Sooo ... where did you go?
I spent the weekend with a friend in Florida 😊