While I believe in protecting one’s ideal writing and creative time, I’m an equally strong proponent of working outside those times. Challenging oneself is necessary. It teaches a person to work regardless of the external situation.
An extreme case in point: one of my art professors sent us outdoors in the middle of a Texas summer to work on our drawings. She barred us from the studio for the course of the class, one that ran for about three hours. Outside we sat, with the afternoon sun glaring on bared heads, arms, and legs. We became statues – once we’d chosen a subject, we couldn’t move without ruining the perspective. Some of us found semi-hospitable conditions, a patch of grass, a bit of shade. Others found themselves near ant mounds and recognized the error too late. We would return from our endeavors sunburnt, thirsty, and ant-bitten.
We overcame the challenge, and it taught us something simple, yet profound: when we’re in the act of making something, the main thing we have to overcome is ourselves. The setting may be uncomfortable, but we can endure it. We can create when it’s 100 degrees with no clouds in sight. We can create when it’s 37, and the sun forebears to shine. We can write and draw and dance and compose in the early or late hours. Time is relative.
What isn’t relative is us. We have to choose to challenge ourselves. We must be flexible so that we don’t become trapped within a routine. We have to recognize the timing and setting will never be perfect and get to work.
Image: Fort George (Creative Commons)