“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”
Blaise Pascal
Have you ever tried that? Sitting alone with your thoughts? It can be very difficult.
The endless chatter. The incessant thoughts. The eternal noise.
Especially in this day and age with all the distractions so readily available.
I heard Neil Gaiman sits in a room and deliberately bores himself into writing.
I think it’s an admirable practice.
The distracted side doesn’t like that they’re sitting in a quiet boring room and throws a tantrum.
“I want to go watch TV!”
“I want to go on my phone!”
“I want to go eat cake!”
Neil waits it out, he establishes that he’s serious about this writing lark. Eventually the distracted side accepts Neil’s commitment and says ‘alright come on let’s get this over with.’
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Hat tip to the morning growler for the quote inspiration 🙂
Thomas Duggan 