Writing versus Producing

Tags

Andrew Solomon, Beth Kephart, Creativity vrs. Productivity, New Yorker Magazine, Rainer Maria Rilke, Writing, Writing Fiction, Writing Passion, Writing Poetry

Author Brenda Havens, former journalist, recently published three children’s stories. She reflects on finding passion in the golden years—writing from the heart, rather than worrying about productivity.

From: Maurus – Depositphotos.com

Are you an older writer? The person waiting until retirement years to pursue this dream? Or maybe you have several decades of life left, but see yourself working full time into eternity in order to keep the bills paid.

You might simply be a Type A—someone driven to constant action, bored with leisure time. Determined to use every minute producing SOMETHING until the day you die.

And that’s the thing. Producing. Measuring. Getting so much done. Before we die. In reading a blog today by richly talented author Beth Kephart, I found her quoting Andrew Solomon in The New Yorker:

 “But Rilke is correct in that we must all write as though eternity lay before us. Enjoy the flexibility that span of eternity offers.”