Uploaded February 2015 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
To read my notes click SHOW MORE below.
See how little equipment and space you need to be a writer! The outlay is trivial. Some writers prefer to work in sparse surroundings with no distractions - often they prefer to treat it as a job and have a place of work, like a shed at the bottom the the garden. Other writers are the very opposite and have to be surrounded by familiar things, such as reference books and the literature they love.
If you become fully engaged in any pursuit that takes all your concentration, then it will switch off your emotions, even pain. This can be either a good thing or a bad thing. If you want to forget painful realities of life then it's a good thing. If you are in a loving relationship then it can make you distant and lacking in empathy which might be a bad thing.
It doesn't have to be writing: anything that engages you completely will have the same effect. It might be any artform or design process, or even a pastime like chess or making model airplanes. It's some consolation to the "writing widow" that while her man is devoting his energy to writing he's unlikely to be unfaithful.
There's an experiment where people are given puzzles to solve and then an accident is staged in plain view.. The puzzle-solvers don't react as promptly or sympathetically as they should.
I was at a critical stage in a complex design when my daughter arrived home from college and came into my office. It took me a couple of minutes to change modes - by which time she was offended because I hadn't leapt to my feet to greet her.
The pictures come from this site which has a list of famous writers and the typewriters they used:
http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/typers.html
often it is the only
thing
between you and
impossibility.
no drink,
no woman’s love,
no wealth
can
match it.
nothing can save
you
except
writing.
it keeps the walls
from
failing.
the hordes from
closing in.
it blasts the
darkness.
writing is the
ultimate
psychiatrist,
the kindliest
god of all the
gods.
writing stalks
death.
it knows no
quit.
and writing
laughs
at itself,
at pain.
it is the last
expectation,
the last
explanation.
that’s
what it
is.
To read my notes click SHOW MORE below.
See how little equipment and space you need to be a writer! The outlay is trivial. Some writers prefer to work in sparse surroundings with no distractions - often they prefer to treat it as a job and have a place of work, like a shed at the bottom the the garden. Other writers are the very opposite and have to be surrounded by familiar things, such as reference books and the literature they love.
If you become fully engaged in any pursuit that takes all your concentration, then it will switch off your emotions, even pain. This can be either a good thing or a bad thing. If you want to forget painful realities of life then it's a good thing. If you are in a loving relationship then it can make you distant and lacking in empathy which might be a bad thing.
It doesn't have to be writing: anything that engages you completely will have the same effect. It might be any artform or design process, or even a pastime like chess or making model airplanes. It's some consolation to the "writing widow" that while her man is devoting his energy to writing he's unlikely to be unfaithful.
There's an experiment where people are given puzzles to solve and then an accident is staged in plain view.. The puzzle-solvers don't react as promptly or sympathetically as they should.
I was at a critical stage in a complex design when my daughter arrived home from college and came into my office. It took me a couple of minutes to change modes - by which time she was offended because I hadn't leapt to my feet to greet her.
The pictures come from this site which has a list of famous writers and the typewriters they used:
http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/typers.html
often it is the only
thing
between you and
impossibility.
no drink,
no woman’s love,
no wealth
can
match it.
nothing can save
you
except
writing.
it keeps the walls
from
failing.
the hordes from
closing in.
it blasts the
darkness.
writing is the
ultimate
psychiatrist,
the kindliest
god of all the
gods.
writing stalks
death.
it knows no
quit.
and writing
laughs
at itself,
at pain.
it is the last
expectation,
the last
explanation.
that’s
what it
is.
