“It seems a shame to say so, but the hardest part of being a writer is not the long hours of learning the craft, but learning how to survive the dark nights of the soul. There are many such nights, far too many, as you will discover. I hate to be the one to bring you this news, but someone should.” –Charles Baxter
I only know too well of what you’re talking about Mr. Baxter. Even now I’m writing this post at 5:26 a.m. Not because I woke up early, but because I’ve been up all night. Why? Good question. I guess I’ve always enjoyed the solace of wor
king at night, when the rest of the world seems to be asleep and I’m left in peace to get work done.
Although I wouldn’t call my night thus far “dark.”
The darkest part of my night was probably when I tried to buy coffee from the vending machine in the rainbow room. Unfortunately, there were no cups left in the machine…but the machine didn’t know that. It failed to produce a cup but went straight ahead and poured coffee anyway, right into the drain.
Basically I paid $2 to watch coffee be poured down to nothing. I tried my best not to cry : (
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Sam, do not get too upset about the $2 coffee going straight down the drain..it happens to the best of us! I remember my first time operating that ol' machine, boy did I feel like an idiot! Anyway, let's focus on the meat of your post as opposed to the coffee machine (did I mention how many darn problems that thing causes?). I agree with you 100% and disagree with Baxter as he refers to the nights as dark and depressing -- well, nights are dark, but you know what I mean. I, too, do my best work late at night after everybody else has gone to bed. There's something calming about the wee hours of the morning and certainly feel, as you write, "left in peace to get work done." Basically, you should be comforted by the fact that there is somebody else like you who is most efficient at 3 am and relishes the "solace" of the nighttime.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both you Sam and Gabe in working into the "wee hours of the morning". I feel much more free to write at night opposed to the day. Maybe it's because I feel the time crunch as I lose more and more sleep. As a result, I become more efficient, and somehow even more awake. I am comforted that I am not the only one who feels productive in the darkness of the night.
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