Creativity

I was reading a blurb on Paul Simon’s new album Surprise and was interested to learn that he does much of his songwriting in the car:

“…I like to drive, listen to music, and write. I like the nearness of the speakers and the solitude of the empty car. It's easier to improvise melody when the scenery is constantly changing and I'm not likely to drive anyone crazy playing the same song for an hour at a time.”

I can relate to this because I will often listen to the same CD (not the same song, thank God – that would probably drive even me crazy) over and over again, sometimes for weeks at a time and I think it does have something to do with the creative process. When I’m writing fiction, I prefer to have a completely benign environment, both internally and externally. If I’m going to be productive at all, I need to be able to put my mind in a place where I can concentrate on the task at hand, with no distractions or interruptions. This is often easier said than done.

Focusing on one, particular thing can be very difficult, especially when your mind has all the discipline of an ADD child off his meds. Let me insert here a quick confession of sorts: Writing, for me, is a lot like exercise. I always feel better for having done it, but I can’t say I always find the process itself enjoyable. Oh, it happens, of course. When I was writing my second novel, chunks of time just vanished while I was in the flow. Sadly, flow doesn’t show up as often as her cousin “ebb” and when ebb is at the wheel, writing is a painful and discouraging act.

So painful and discouraging, in fact, that it can be difficult to summon the energy to do it at all (hence my last post). Now, I’ve read enough books by and about writing to know that I’m not alone in this. If there’s one thing most writers seem to have in common it’s that we’re all first-class procrastinators. Like other writers, I’ve come up with myriad ways to get myself to write. One way that seems to work consistently is to offer myself a bribe of sorts.

I’ll tell myself that if I will only sit down in front of the computer – leaving email and the Internet alone, mind you – and leave just the faintest possibility open that I might actually, you know, write something (no pressure), then as a reward I can listen to the CD of my choice. The upshot of this, other than making me sound certifiably crazy, is that I will be sitting in front of the computer, listening to music. And at first, that’s all I’ll be doing. I may doodle a little, writing a few lines as things pop into my head. I may stare out the window while I listen. But always I keep coming back to the blank screen.

After it plays through once, I’ll turn it on again. If it’s morning, maybe I’ll grab another cup of coffee. Gradually, as time wears on, the music will switch from foreground to background and the words on the screen will start to take on the shape of whatever is percolating in my subconscious. It may take two or even three turns of the CD to do get me to this point and if this seems like a convoluted way to create the proper mood for me to write something, I won’t argue with you. I’m just telling you what works for me. If you’ve got a better method, then God bless.

The good news is that the next time I sit down to write – hopefully, the next day – the process doesn’t take as long to work. And pretty soon, if I continue to find the time to sit and write each day, the ritual becomes set and all I have to do is turn on the music and I’m gone. So when Paul Simon says that he likes to take a drive and create in the car while listening to the same song over and over, I’m right there, man. I can dig it.

Now if I can just figure out how he manages to drive the car and write at the same time.