By Kevin Dolan Writing is thinking and thinking is writing. As a result, in this world, there remain two distinct and different kinds of writers. Writers who are either reflective or reflexive. I am woefully reflective. I will do most anything but write. Things like sharpening pencils I am not going to use, going to the cupboard to look for the box of Wheat Thins, checking the mailbox at 10:00 am knowing the mail arrives late afternoon, literally anything but writing. Some will refer to this as procrastination; my youngest tells me it is nothing more than resistance. Regardless, it is a fact. In the 30-plus years I influenced young writers, I made it a critical point to get them to understand how to learn to be both. A blending of writing when thinking and thinking while writing becomes the key. And, yes, it can be done. The practice began with freshmen engaging in a “quick write,” a seven-minute timed write for maximum fluency. These fledgling writers were told to simply keep writing the prompt over and over if nothing comes to mind. The actual muscle training being to keep the pen or pencil going for the time period was a part of the overall goals. Prompts like - I am the one who…, Best party ever, Favorite restaurants and what I order, and countless others were designed to spark thought resulting in a block of words, at least 200 in the seven minute time allotment. In my 30 years, no freshmen failed to get to 200 words. The whole writing is thinking, thinking is writing thing came to a summit, a very high summit, when my seniors were introduced to Sei Shonagon, a Japanese diarist, poet, and lady in waiting who was born in the year 966 and died in 1025. She was witty and learned, exhibiting a brilliant prose style with the ability to compose, in an instant, a verse exactly suited to each and every occasion. Her gift became bound and was left behind in the form of her Pillow Book. With Shonagon as the motivating example, the seniors ventured into their own Pillow Books. Each day, a new heading was posted for them to model her thoughts and outlook as they compiled a unique list of the things that came to their minds. The clever and biting mind of Sei Shonagon became a wonderful nudge for the students to use as a launching pad. Her phrasing brought to light the notion of writing and thinking, thinking and writing, in a bright and refreshing manner. It was also so fascinating to discover that humankind rarely reinvents itself. Not only her style, but the way she saw the world became a window into her mind. Such lines as “A man who has nothing
in particular to recommend him discusses all sorts of subjects at random as if he knew everything.” And “I am the sort of person who approves of what others abhor and detests the things they like.” Beyond mere lines, we then explored her Pillow Book and her luminous lists. Her list of Splendid Things included: Chinese brocade. A sword with a decorated scabbard. The grain of the wood in a Buddhist statue. Long flowering branches of beautifully coloured wisteria entwined about a pine tree. Her Rare Things demonstrated the timelessness connecting us all with such entries as: A son-inlaw who's praised by his wife's father. Likewise, a wife who's loved by her mother-in-law. A pair of silver tweezers that can actually pull out hairs properly. A person who is without a single quirk. Someone who's superior in both appearance and character, and who's remained utterly blameless throughout his long dealings with the world. Timeless indeed and true to this moment. The seniors found the ritual of beginning each class with a new heading and a seven minute timer to be hard, daunting at times, fun, often paralyzing, and in the end, the understanding they actually are writers who thought and thinkers who wrote. We wrote each day and shared bits and pieces, sometimes our entire list. Yes, I wrote right along with them and showed my vulnerability by meekly sharing on occasion. The following is a peek into my mind, my view of this world, and me, the writer and thinker. The prompt was I Enjoy Watching: The flight of a properly struck golf ball. An elderly couple, from behind, walking hand-in-hand. My darling wife enter a room and immediately change the barometric pressure. Two dogs asleep side-by-side in a small dog bed. Steph Curry. Under the heading Things that are Uniquely and Unmistakably Blue: Frank Sinatra’s eyes. Lake Tahoe on a clear and calm afternoon. Oxygenated blood. The moon that can never be seen in February, even during leap years. Smurfs. I will leave you with this—a week’s worth of headings to start your own Pillow Book. The seven minute time constraint is obviously optional, though I recommend you try to write at the same time each day. The prompts are: Things That Make Your Heart Beat Faster, Awkward Moments, Things That Cannot Be Compared, Nothing Can Be Worse…, Deeply Irritating Things, Things That Should Be Short, and Poetic Subjects.
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