When I’m Not Writing
I’m Listening and Learning
Playwright Karen Ince asked what practices I employ to increase my productivity for writing.
Approximately three mornings per week, (for about an hour each,) I knit randomly as I listen to podcasts, with a pen and scrap paper at my side. As interesting concepts or plays on words come up, I scribble them down thinking, “There’s a story here, I must follow up, and I want to learn more.”
Typically I end up with a page-worth of books to read but, sometimes I shake out a golden nugget, which tends to lead me down a rabbit hole of research afterward.
At the end of the week, I collect my scraps to review and evaluate my scribbles. Are there any bits worth transposing to my online workbook? Are any bits ready to be worked into an article I am drafting? Can I twist this word just so? Why did I find that so hilarious on Monday and now it lays flat on the page?
This week I have been listening to podcasts about Medieval Swedish monarchists. Subject-matter podcasts, podcasts about writing, reading, books, author interviews, book chats, and book reviews of classic texts allow me to be amused, entertained, and educated while I am doing everything but writing.
Does this idle knitting/listening/scribbling process make me more productive?
I am not sure, but the by-product of this exercise is that for at least 3 hours per week, I am dead focused on listening and learning.
