Resist the urge to do housework, says Pat Barker. QUOTES FOR WRITERS
Keep your bum glued to the chair. It’s extraordinary how, if a piece of writing is going badly—and sometimes even when it’s going well—other activities become steadily more attractive. Not just getting up to make endless cups of coffee either—even cleaning out the cupboard under the sink seems suddenly a fun thing to do. Resist! You’ve got to turn up, on time, at the blank page or screen, and then just stay there. That way, if the Muse does decide to pay you a visit, at least she’ll know where to find you.
Pat Barker
13 comments on “Resist the urge to do housework, says Pat Barker. QUOTES FOR WRITERS”
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BRIDGET WHELAN writer 
great advice!
Yes!
Yes, really great advice, because i leave the chair to do housework too often! Thank you, Karen 🙂
Polly Devlin said you could tell when there was a deadline approaching in her house – there was always a lovely smell in the kitchen. Cake baking as a displacement actvity…
Bridget, Oh…I am guilty of that for sure!
Persistence; the difference between what might be achieved and what will be achieved.
True, Danny. Not-giving-up is probably the most important quality of a writer
So true. Yet I find if I have been at the desk for a long time, a bit of another creative endeavor might be just the ticket.
And actually there’s some evidence that a routine physical activity that doesn’t engage the mind – such as hanging out the washing – can help when you’re stuck. I think Pat Barker is warning about using housework as a barrier to getting started, before the creative process even has had a chance to stall.
Yes. I believe you are correct.
Reblogged this on The Country Goth Girl.
Thanks for re-blogging
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