These distractions I face seem paltry to me in a way. I don't write professionally. Great authors such as Hemmingway, Vonnegut, or Franklin seem to circumvent these issues in their own way. After reading "The Daily Routines of Great Writers" by Maria Popova, light was shed through the dusk which is the creative process. Hemmingway stands, Vonnegut exercises and drinks, and Ben Franklin has set himself a rigid hourly schedule to keep him on task. After reading this article, my mind shifted to the question: who would I want at my roundtable if I could speak to any authors from history? Easy I would want; Albert Camus, Marcus Aurelius, Ernest Hemmingway, Jack Kerouac, George R.R. Martin, Don DeLillo , Maya Angelou, E.B. White , and Kurt Vonnegut. (See corresponding buttons below for associated works) I feel this would be a very well rounded tables with scoundrels, academics, creatives, and George R.R. Martin.(the mad-man that he is) Hopefully the conversation would take place in a relaxed environment around alcohol (to loosen inhibitions).
Devon: "Thank you all for being here it really is a pleasure to meet all of you. Since I have you guys here and you are the best of your respective "fields" of your craft, I would like to ask you guys a simple question. How do you do it? How do you guys make these masterpieces that convey information in a timeless and universally understandable way? Hemmingway: " When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write." Vonnegut: "I second that In an unmoored life like mine, sleep and hunger and work arrange themselves to suit themselves, without consulting me. I’m just as glad they haven’t consulted me about the tiresome details. What they have worked out is this: I awake at 5:30, work until 8:00, eat breakfast at home." Camus: I find myself similar to Simone de Beauvoir who said "I’m always in a hurry to get going, though in general I dislike starting the day. I first have tea and then, at about ten o’clock, I get under way and work until one. Then I see my friends and after that, at five o’clock, I go back to work and continue until nine. I have no difficulty in picking up the thread in the afternoon. When you leave, I’ll read the paper or perhaps go shopping. Most often it’s a pleasure to work." This is generally complimentary to my creative process. Angelou: I write in the morning and then go home about midday and take a shower, because writing, as you know, is very hard work, so you have to do a double ablution Devon: Hmm, very interesting. I'm not much of a morning person myself so I would have trouble adjusting to such a lifestyle. I find myself being restless, abounding with energy, unless I have an outlet for it before I start my day I find myself frazzled. How do you keep your energy levels in check? Aurelius: "When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10km or swim for 1500m (or do both), then I read a bit." Kerouac: " I stand on my head in the bathroom, on a slipper, and touch the floor nine times with my toe tips, while balanced. This is incidentally more than yoga, it’s an athletic feat, I mean imagine calling me ‘unbalanced’ after that. Devon: "That's.....a little extreme don't ya think? Kerouac: "Frankly I do feel that my mind is going. So another ‘ritual’ as you call it, is to pray to Jesus to preserve my sanity and my energy so I can help my family" DeLillo: "I work in the morning at a manual typewriter. I do about four hours and then go running" Devon: " I'll have to incorporate this into my writing, I feel that being semi-physically tired increases my productivity. Last question while I have you guys here. Do you find it easier to work in a busy or quiet environment. E.B.White: "I never listen to music when I’m working. I haven’t that kind of attentiveness, and I wouldn’t like it at all. On the other hand, I’m able to work fairly well among ordinary distractions. My house has a living room that is at the core of everything that goes on: it is a passageway to the cellar, to the kitchen, to the closet where the phone lives. There’s a lot of traffic. But it’s a bright, cheerful room, and I often use it as a room to write in, despite the carnival that is going on all around me. A girl pushing a carpet sweeper under my typewriter table has never annoyed me particularly, nor has it taken my mind off my work, unless the girl was unusually pretty or unusually clumsy." Devon: "Well thank you ladies and gents for speaking with me today. I have enjoyed the time you have taken from your busy schedules and coming here from your respective locations and time periods."
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my mindset from student to workforce. Distractions abound for me not only in everyday life, but also on a philosophical level. My phone rings and as I look at the caller ID I find its my boss. I know he is going to ask me to go on a job outing in Fresno for the next 4 weeks. Immediately I have a choice; do I continue writing my final paper, or do I take take the call and break my thought flow, or do I take the call and take the job and take the money and jeopardize my class, degree, etc, Most of my distractions are not as complex. Normally its the TV is too loud, or my cat is in my face asking for food, or my friends are calling asking me if I'm free for shenanigans. I can confidently say without a doubt; my distractions do not affect the quality of the piece I am writing. I have the ability of focus, my focus shifts just as often as others but when I go back to my original task I can jump back to where I was originally. This ability is not to be confused with my writing skill however. If I believed I was a perfect writer I would have become an author. Punctuation, word choice, and grammar and their intricacies elude me on many occasions, possibly as I write this now. I believe with more exposure these short-comings will improve. The only way this improvement will happen is to lessen the severity or frequency of distractions. There are innumerable ways to facilitate this, but to keep you awake i'll narrow it down to six, from most distracting to least.
1. Career distractions This is by far the most distracting due to the marshmellow effect. (Press the button below for information on the experiment) I have to decided that I will mitigate this problem by quitting my job and living the life of a college kid. This was difficult to do simply because I love money and have a predilection for instant gratification. Today I have accomplished this and am working towards my degree. 2. Noise Noise particular entertainment causes me to get sidetracked very easily. I would much rather watch Rick and Morty than learn calculus. However for me this is a double edged sword. Too little noise is uncomfortable for me and I have tend to over-analyze things. I have mitigated this effect by turning on educational programs such as Crashcourse or documentaries about something that I find to be interesting yet dull enough I can focus on something else. 3. Social Interactions A night of shenanigans in Philly with my friends is always more tempting than learning how to write code for software. I have eliminated this temptation by turning off my phone hindering my ability to shift my focus from school to my scoundrel friends. 4. Energy Level Another double-edged sword for me is my energy level. I am a HYPER person. borderline ADD. To dampen this effect I try to exercise before I study or I eat to balance myself. 5. Life Maintenance Everyone on earth has basic maintenance for their lives. If we never paid our bills, got gas for our vehicles, or fixed that leak under the sink, our lives would disintegrate. I have found the perfect remedy to this is to a lot one day a week for physical task ( IE, buying stamps) and a certain hour allotment during each day for things that I can get done virtually. ( paying bills) 6. Lack of Materials It is much a harder to do academic work when one doesn't have pencils. I have found this to be an easy fix by simply bringing all of my study materials to my work area, and having all of my necessary accessories, (charging cords, pens, paper, etc) at my work area. These six factors together some trivial some major lead to a performance change when brought together. Hopefully all of these mitigating these factors will allow me to focus on the important things I need to master to become a better writer; punctuation, word choice, grammar, and their intricacies. Writing has been around for eons. Originally used to convey information such as; astronomical phases for agriculture, or to regale future generations of an epic hunt or of a particular eventful king. TImes changed but the reason for individuals feeling the need to convey information they deem pertinent has not. Joan DIdion was published to the New York TImes Book Review in 1976. She discussed her feelings on why individuals write and by extension, herself. She explained her cause for writing (as I gathered) as sharing her improvements or embellishments she creates during everyday life. She walks through life and the stories her mind creates are interesting enough that when she writes them down and shares them with other individuals, they sell. After reading her thoughts on the matter I aimed her question inward. Why do I write? Well, most of the time I write for school related matters, but every now and again I find it relaxing to write for more business related matters. When I first graduated school I found myself in El Paso, Texas, 1800 miles from friends and family at 20 years old in a job dominated by men, who had 20 years on me both in age and experience, doing a job that if I failed I could kill dozens of people and go to jail for the rest of my life. Que panic and existential crisis. I discovered shortly thereafter that when I write out my rules, regs, and checklists in my own words (usually in checklist or short summary form), I not only felt more confident but my productivity and accuracy increased exponentially. Soon after I started creating my notebook checklists I was out performing my rivals and was promoted to lead. I realize that I'm not the best storyteller or creative mind for fiction, but when I need something DONE if I write it out it, professional accomplishment is soon to come after.
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Devon ByrdHello I'm Devon. Student, mechanic, and former nomad. ArchivesCategories |