Getting the Writing Done

There's a quote I love from Donald Hall that talks about what writers need to do to get their writing done.  In his book Life Work (which is fabulous, by the way), he writes, "Anyone who loves accomplishment lives by the clock and the list.”  I thought of that quote earlier this week when I saw this blog post about getting up in the morning and writing.  It's a good reminder that we must set aside time to do what is important to us, whether that's reading or writing or whatever.  In this case (and in mine), it's writing.

Similarly, I liked this article from The New Yorker about how walking helps us think.  When people ask me how I find the time to write and work out, I explain that I think through things when I'm walking.  Then, once I get to the computer or pen and paper, the writing comes much more easily, as I've already been doing it that morning.  Of course, if you really want to read about walking and thinking (and writing), you should read Rebecca Solnit's Wanderlust, which is completely devoted to walking (it has chapters on Socrates and the Romantics, for example).