Creativity

I have written a dozen or two introductions to my book. Never do I consider any of them practice. Each feels perfect as I conceive of it before writing. I take care to write each one as best I can. As I write, I think it will draw the reader in, engage them, and inspire. Then as I write more, I realize there's more to it. I have to explain. Try as I might to avoid including anything unnecessary, I find it doesn't work. I keep trying to see if I can through editing it improve it. I work with it for days, weeks, even a month. Next thing I know, I'm lying awake in bed, a new approach coming to me. I know that…

I've heard the saying that "Writing is rewriting." I've been working on my latest book well over a year, maybe more than eighteen months. I didn't mark my calendar when I started. I wonder what that amount of time without a finished manuscript sounds like to my friends. I finished my first draft in January and a couple friends read some of it, but it wasn't long before my own reflections led me to edit so much that as to make that manuscript obsolete. Many people remind me not to let perfect be the enemy of the good and related phrases, but they're saying it without knowing the relative qualities of the drafts. They aren't even comparable. If I had simply copy edited the January…

I wrote a few months ago about my physics professor who met Albert Einstein. He also plays piano, at least once even at Carnegie Hall, though a private event hosted by Steinway not for an audience. You might notice a resemblance to Einstein: He played at a private recital this week. I don't attend enough in-person music performances, all the more for living in New York City. He played last after about ten other performers, all students of a teacher. I often enjoy the contemplative state that live classical music puts me into. This time I loved it. Life has been so hectic. I had to rush to make the recital in time. Then the music made the moment timeless. The rest of the world…

The first drafts of all my past books were long, followed by many rounds of editing, including a lot of cutting. My latest draft is around 80,000 words with maybe 20 percent more to write. At 275 words per page, that's pushing 300 pages. Not bad for a first draft. Except for some good news. My best writing, or progress, tends to come not when I'm writing or at the keyboard, but when I wake up before the alarm or if I go to sleep early and wake up in the middle of the night and allow myself to reflect. I also write most of the most important parts by hand, since that way feels like there's less between me and what I'm writing. I…

I've talked a lot lately about a few movies that have spoiled me for most other movies. That is, I find them so meaningful that other movies might entertain but don't compare in value they bring to my life. After seeing them, if any other movies resemble them, I can't help but try to compare them and the other ones don't measure up. The movies that spoil me for other movies that I've seen lately include Yi Yi, A Brighter Summer Day, and Tokyo Story. Older ones include Fanny and Alexander and The Best Intentions. I have to watch The Grand Illusion again to see if it qualifies. Maybe Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Annie Hall. What I love about these movies is that…