The Pianist and Working Every Day

One of my favorite Tweeple is @AdviceToWriters. Almost every day, Jon Winokur posts something that makes me have a lightbulb moment in relation to my own writing. Any writer will tell you that's a blessing, seeing as how so many of us are often left in the dark.

A few days ago, I went to Winokur's site Advice to Writers and tripped over the following post:

It doesn't matter what time of day you work, but you have to work every day because creation, like life, is always slipping away from you. You must write every day, but there's no time limit on how long you have to write.

One day you might read over what you've done and think about it. You pick up the pencil or turn on the computer, but no new words come. That's fine. Sometimes you can't go further. Correct a misspelling, reread a perplexing paragraph, and then let it go. You have re-entered the dream of the work, and that's enough to keep the story alive for another 24 hours.

The next day you might write for hours; there's no way to tell. The goal is not a number of words or hours spent writing. All you need to do is to keep your heart and mind open to the work.

WALTER MOSLEY

I've been struggling with writing ever since I graduated with my Master's Degree. Once I didn't have that gun next to my head, I started falling back into the same routine of watching television and generally being lazy. I'm helping my dad with a story idea because he's not a writer, and every week he asks me if I've made any progress. For the past few weeks, my answer has been, "No. Sorry."

That's just not good enough. I certainly need to be devoting more time to this, but I feel like it should be easier. I've already written a novel, and while it may still need tons of work, it's one more novel than I ever thought I'd write. I know the pitfalls, the traps, how easily I can put off writing while I tend to millions of other seemingly more important things. How could I have forgotten the importance of breathing with the project every day?

And today, as I was walking back from lunch, I heard a piano being played. I looked into the art gallery (I work at a college) and see this young man hammering away on the keys. As I walked away, I realized that he's in there every single day, playing like he'll never see a piano again. Mosley is right - "creation, like life, is always slipping away." Every day is our last chance to create, whether we realize it or not.