1 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,559 I have to have a study where I have a 2 00:00:08,559 --> 00:00:12,080 window and I have to look out the window 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,400 and I spend a lot of time looking out 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,520 the window. And if I have to face a 5 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,039 wall, I'm not happy and I'm not feeling 6 00:00:21,039 --> 00:00:23,920 that I want to sit there. In any room, I 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,000 always go to the window and I gravitate 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,439 to the window. Now, it sounds maybe a 9 00:00:29,439 --> 00:00:31,840 little naive or silly, but I feel that 10 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:33,440 all those aids are part of the 11 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,800 imagination. There's some reason where I 12 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,480 need to look out the window at a 13 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:40,719 beautiful scene. I don't want to look at 14 00:00:40,719 --> 00:00:43,120 the at an air shaft or the or a parking 15 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,200 lot. And so, I'm sitting there with my 16 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,840 laptop and I'm writing and I feel 17 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,000 that that surpassing beauty of the 18 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,960 physical world is helping me. If I were 19 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,280 facing a wall, I would feel trapped and 20 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,399 captive. I would feel like a rat in a 21 00:01:02,399 --> 00:01:04,239 cage. I wouldn't be happy. So, in 22 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:06,479 Princeton, I have a window looking out 23 00:01:06,479 --> 00:01:09,040 and a lot of green. And I put my my 24 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,159 garden in with color. Yellow is 25 00:01:12,159 --> 00:01:14,240 important and red and some blue and 26 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,360 purple. And I put those colors in 27 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:19,680 deliberately so that I look at them and 28 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,240 I move geraniums around. So, if I'm 29 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,600 sitting there and some birds fly by or a 30 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,240 a neighbor cat walks through, sometimes 31 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,520 there's a fox and I'm afraid sometimes 32 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:33,119 there's a groundhog coming in the 33 00:01:33,119 --> 00:01:35,600 garden. So, then I actually run down and 34 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:37,920 chase the groundhog away. But the idea 35 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,560 of the natural world coming into the the 36 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,680 window down and this the I'm on the 37 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,079 second floor. To me, that's part of this 38 00:01:46,079 --> 00:01:49,280 whole mystery process. It's like I don't 39 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:50,560 know what I'm going to see out the 40 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,360 window. And that's part of the writing. 41 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:55,119 I think one of the main things to to 42 00:01:55,119 --> 00:01:57,200 remember when you're writing is that 43 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:58,960 writing should be pleasurable. It should 44 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,520 be fun. It should be exploratory. You 45 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:02,960 should be writing about things that 46 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,119 surprise you. So you wake up in the 47 00:02:05,119 --> 00:02:06,719 morning and before you get up actually 48 00:02:06,719 --> 00:02:09,440 and o open your eyes, think very 49 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:11,039 excitedly about what you're going to be 50 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:13,440 working on and feel that something 51 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,640 surprising and novel and maybe a little 52 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:18,560 startling or even shocking will happen 53 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,120 before noon and it will happen in your 54 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,040 writing and nobody knows about it but 55 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,760 you. And that's because writing is like 56 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,480 a spiritual manifestation of something 57 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,239 deep within us we don't really know is 58 00:02:30,239 --> 00:02:33,440 there. So it's like a painter painting 59 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,840 work that is so beautiful but in coate 60 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,000 and putting it out on a canvas and other 61 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,400 people can see it. So it's analogous to 62 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,239 that. Then another thing you should 63 00:02:42,239 --> 00:02:44,400 remember is as you as you write that 64 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,879 writing is not done in one day. You're 65 00:02:46,879 --> 00:02:48,640 not going to write a novel in one week. 66 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:50,400 You won't won't write a brilliant short 67 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,800 story in in two weeks. And it should 68 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:54,640 obviously be the case that you don't 69 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:57,599 have to be prolific. If you write one 70 00:02:57,599 --> 00:03:00,560 really brilliant short story a year, 71 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,400 that's great. Uh, if you write one novel 72 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,800 at all, you know, that's really all that 73 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,879 one expects. I have no expectations of 74 00:03:10,879 --> 00:03:14,080 of anything in my own life because I was 75 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,000 the first person in my whole family even 76 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,480 to graduate from high school. Nobody had 77 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:20,159 any expectations for me. My parents 78 00:03:20,159 --> 00:03:22,159 didn't expect anything of me. And I 79 00:03:22,159 --> 00:03:23,840 thought that I think that's really a 80 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,640 blessing. So, I wouldn't expect anything 81 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:29,280 except the pleasure of writing and the 82 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,200 and the excitement of sending things out 83 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,040 and maybe getting published and finding 84 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:38,239 an audience, which is purely positive. 85 00:03:38,239 --> 00:03:41,680 Thank you for watching and spending time 86 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,799 and working with me. I feel really 87 00:03:44,799 --> 00:03:47,680 excited about writing again and I hope 88 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,319 you will be also.