We do not think about
strict discipline when we deal with creative tasks. However, this is possible
only if the deadline was not specified. But what if there is not only one task?
Then it requires a certain self-organization to perform it on time. First of
all, you need to give yourself the strict instruction about the importance of
the work and understand it, it will influence the pace of your work, the
working mood and the desire to fulfill all the tasks, in addition, a lot of
effort will be saved for the work itself.
It does not matter when
you perform the intended work - in the morning, in the afternoon, in the
evening or at night. Work productivity is different for all at different times
of the day. Temperament of every individual, inner mood and different life
circumstances also play important role. The main principle is the ability to
subordinate yourself with the internal need to do the work on time. In some
ways the work of a writer who has learned to follow the requirements of
self-discipline is similar to bureaucratic work, although, this may seem
strange.
Meanwhile, such great
masters as Goethe, Scott, Hugo, Flaubert proceeded to fulfill their writing
duties like executive officer, conscientiously fulfilling their official
duties. At the same time, one cannot say that the inner need for a writer's
labor self-discipline was acquired by them immediately. It has passed a long
stage of development for every person. And everyone came to the idea of the necessity of strict
submission to the internal order independently.
The writing discipline
is formed gradually, and is finally fixed in the period of creative maturity.
By this time the writer irrevocably comes to the opinion that it is possible to
create something worthy not only and not so much by the coincidence of
successful circumstances, but also exclusively through persistent work and
perseverance, supported by patient expectation. It is unequivocal that an
outstanding literary work can become a real result and appear before the reader
as a result of a long creative search.
The question arises,
what to do and how to do it, if in a self-appointed time, not only words and
phrases inspired by inspiration come to your mind, but also a vision of what
you should write about. Whenever you sit down at the table in the hope to
receive a portion of inspiration, you should not expect that it will be
immediately served by providence. Of course not! As a rule, inspiration is a
reward for hard work. Meanwhile, it's wrong to leave work immediately if
nothing creative comes to mind.
The remarkable Belgian
playwright M. Maeterlinck (1862-1949) answering the question about what to do
in such a situation, advised: "Sit." At the same time he strictly
followed this advice and was sitting for three hours in the morning, sometimes
even doing nothing and smoking a pipe. In this case, only from 1927 to 1942
came out 12 volumes of his works.
There are also
unconditional differences between the writer's work and the official's work.
The official, having fulfilled the required number of working hours, leaves his
office with a clear conscience with a sense of duty. He completely
"disconnects" from issues related to the work process, and from the
visitors who besieged him during the working day. This is not the working day
of the writer.
Having finished
writing, the author continues to think about images created by imagination, he
is ready to "meet" any of his characters at any time and continue the
conversation that has begun, constructs phrases with which he will address the
interlocutor in the pages of his work. When the creative process is successful,
it is not necessary to break away from the desktop, and therefore, if possible,
it is necessary to postpone all other activities that are less important at
this time. Of course, there are many methods of working on a texts, probably as
many as writers. And everyone can share some of his own way of creating works.
The main thing is a lot of work, creative efforts put by the writer in the
basis of creation. Only this is important and brings satisfaction, and maybe
success. Whether to write as the great masters of the artistic word, or to
choose another way of creating works – it is a decision everyone takes by
himself.
