Writing advice: Annie Dillard vs Nietzsche
Who did I listen to and who did I ignore?
13 July 1998
Annie Dillard writes that you should set yourself up in an ugly place with no windows if you’re going to get any writing done. Her favorite spot, she says, looked out onto a cinderblock wall.
I disagree. I couldn’t possibly write in a space like that. I’d be so distracted by what I should do to fix its ugliness – perhaps paint an eye-catching abstract in great colors or a beautiful scene that conveys peace and tranquility, or perhaps plant ivy in it or grow a flowering vine. Anything but man-made flat, dull, gray, boring ugly blocks.
On the other hand, she’s published eight books and I, so far, have published none.
Dante wrote “on the hoof,” as Dillard puts it, and Nietzsche and Emerson both took two long walks a day.
“When my creative energy flowed most freely,” Nietzsche wrote, “my muscular activity was always greatest… I might often have been seen dancing. I used to walk through the hills for seven or eight hours on end without a hint of fatigue. I slept well and laughed a great deal. I was perfectly vigorous and patient.”
So at least my habit of walking – 18 miles so far this week on three walks – may be productive for both health and creativity.
I’ll take a path along the river over a cinderblock wall any day.
You may also enjoy reading about the advice I received from filmmaker Mira Nair & author Madeleine L’Engle.
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[photo of my writing table and space in Asheville, North Carolina]
Kristin, I think the answer is - whatever works. People are wired so differently. Some are just prone to distraction, some need an inspirational setting, while others deal with multiple hurdles that don't have much to do with setting at all. I have a few rules I must follow to be productive. I write in the afternoon and early evening, never in the morning, never write if I've had a few drinks (Have no clue how somebody like Kerouac pulled that off), never have the television or music on, never make notes on my phone. Others do the exact opposite, and it works for them. Good topic, enjoyed this. - Jim
The image of Annie writing and smoking in that cinderblock room (and also in the solitary shack on the PNW island) is equally unnerving and inspiring. Totally agree with the beautiful view and walking theory!