CURIOUS PLACES

Years ago while attending a creative writing seminar, an instructor had us write for ten minutes in the conference room where held. She gave us a topic and asked that we freewrite for that time--no stopping, no corrections,just write. The she moved the small group outdoors to a sunny patio to write for another ten minutes--same directions--without a topic.

If you don't think the world around you affects your writing try this experiment. I found my first ten minutes was more restricted, more classroom-like. It didn't mean that I couldn't produce something readible within those restraints and that time-frame but it was more like being in school again. My ten-minute writing outdoors flowed more freely, seemed more open, and read like I had connected with my inner self.

My recommendation is to try your writing--even on the same subject matter--in your office and then move out to the patio, down to the park, or find a back booth at a fast-food place. It is worth the test to see if you write with more enthusiasm and ease in one place or the other.

One of my favorite poets, and writers, is Gary Snyder. This is one of his thoughts that resonated with me:

"Memories and our old pathways are woven like ghost nets invisibly filling the landscape of our days."