I
lost a brown jacket on my commuter train last week. My wife disparagingly refers to it as my “dad
jacket,” not because I’m a dad but because it reminds her of a jacket her dad
would have worn. It’s been a week since
it remained on the train to Stamford as I exited Metro North at Larchmont. I visited the Lost & Found for the MTA
twice and have given up on the idea of its recovery, but the process of looking
for something I’d taken for granted made me realize that each day some writers
lose something and need to look for a way to recapture it.
When
I went to the Lost & Found the clerk asked me to describe the jacket. I’d worn it daily for the past few months and over a
period of many springs and falls over the years, but I realize that I took it
for granted. I didn’t really notice many
of its attributes. I felt
embarrassed. I didn’t recall the brand, any obvious identifying marks, or even the size. We don’t notice the things we have until they
leave us.
For
writers, many don’t take note as to what works for them when they are on a
roll, but when they hit a wall, they suddenly find themselves wondering how to
get back into a groove or a zone. Maybe
they need to forget trying to retrieve something from the lost and found and
instead, take the opportunity to start fresh.
I
need to replace the jacket that felt nice and soft and comfortable. Perhaps the next one will look a little more
pleasing to my wife but still provide me with a good fit. Some writers may need to hit a slump in order to
push towards getting a clean start.
Writers
should remember what helps them write well.
For some, they need to make sure they have time set aside to write. For others, they need to clear their minds so
they can focus on their craft. Writers
usually write out of experience and inspiration, so the key to generating good
writings is to generate good experiences or to meet others who inspire you and
spark new ideas.
Writers
tend to operate under a routine, but it’s not a complete formula or ritual
that’s followed. But writers have their
comfort zone and tend to fall into a pattern of behavior and thinking. When a writer is challenged to respond to new
conditions, a different situation, or a
time of change, it is then that some writers can’t work their magic, yet others see the newness in the loss of old as an opportunity to be a better writer.
I
don’t wish to have lost the jacket but I welcome the opportunity to get a new
one. Maybe this next one will look and feel better, and maybe this time, I’ll
pay a little more attention to it.
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