Hello all,
I’ve been thinking of Virginia Woolf’s essay “A Room of One’s Own” lately. (If you haven’t read the essay, I highly recommend it.) To badly surmise, Woolf stipulates that writers, especially mothers, require a room dedicated to one’s mental, creative employment. Be it an office, a library, or a den, this space of “One’s Own” is designed to be an uninterrupted place of work and creativity.
Woolf recognized that women who were discouraged from pursuing academics and writing, and mothers who were naturally burdened with the full weight of child-rearing per social and gender norms, often lacked the time and accessibility of a quiet space that nurtured their creativity.
Now, I reckon, in the age of COVID where more – men and women, mothers and fathers – are working from home, there is a larger population of people who can attest to the difficulty of working with focus while their family is around and about.
I don’t mean to suggest that our family intentionally gets in the way of our work. But the shortest request for a snack or a quick peek to look at a drawing is equally as disruptive to one’s train of thought as an unexpected phone call or poorly timed temper tantrum.
Still, I’ve been wearing many hats as of late and have found it challenging to keep up with my creative writing. “Productivity” is heavy with context; I’ll go as far as to say I enjoy being productive. It is satisfying to finish projects, try new exercises, and be asked to attempt new occupations. Even so, I find myself falling behind in my passions.
In these times, I believe there is comfort to be found in certain truths:
- If you write, you are a writer.
You are a writer. - You don’t always have to write well. Writing is an art: it changes, develops, grows, and sometimes it just sucks.
It just sucks. - Sometimes, writing is hard for everyone. Life is busy and full of distractions. Be kind to yourself.
BE KIND. - Like all skills, you have to practice. You’ll get better – you will.
Pratice, pratice, pratice.
Good Luck.
And Happy Writing.
