Things get pretty quiet around here once classes launch.
And I have to admit that I love nothing better than the sound of writers hard at work.
Do you know what writers sound like when they are working?
When writers are working, they don’t make any sound at all.
Of course, there is a burst of activity once a week, as class work gets turned in, reviewed and recirculated, but mostly there is just the sound of silence.
God I love that sound. It’s so…industrious.
Sure there are always little bursts of questions or requests for clarification, but mostly, gloriously, there is the consistent roar of silent, focused work.
That silence is music to my ears. It is the same place where my creativity comes to life, so I’m thrilled when my students embrace it and run with it and ride it to wherever it wants to take them.
The world has become awfully noisy and all the cacophony is not doing a thing for anyone’s creativity.
There are plenty of folks who are happy splashing around in the noise. But I’m not one of them. I don’t crave it. And it’s not where I feel my most creative. It’s not where I get the most done.
The silence is where I go on a daily basis to get my work done. I hope you will try it out. I hope, when you do that you find that still, silent place inside of you where the world stops and the magic starts.
Loving the sound of silence does not make you anti-social. It simply means you are creative. You are allowed to be creative. You are allowed to go to your most silent places, where your creative potential is lurking in the nooks and crannies of your soul, just hoping you will notice it and coax it out.
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Yes, I teach creative writing classes, and the most wonderful sound comes after I give out a writing exercise and say, ‘go.’ The scritch scratch of pen on paper, and the tap tap of fingers on laptop, are the sweetest quiet sounds!
My youngest (of 4) is in 1st grade, this is the quietest the house has been. I’m getting used to it slowly. Your book Writer Mama has given me the tools to get serious about my writing. Thank you. When I write at a cafe or my daughter’s gymnastics, I plug in my noise cutting headphones to soft piano music- on low. Glad to have found your site. Did I say thank you?!