Tag: Writing Practice

William Stafford wrote over 20,000 poems. My favorite quote about Stafford’s prolificness (prolificity?) comes from our local paper, The Oregonian:

“Writing every day resulted in about 20,000 completed or attempted poems; only about 6,000 have been published.”

ONLY 6,000… I imagine the author of that article has a dry sense of humor. It’s the “20,000 completed or attempted poems” that intrigues me, however. Stafford woke up early every day and wrote. His advice to others about what to do when they can’t write?

“Lower your standards and keep writing.”

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If life faithfully followed my calendar, by the time the clock struck 7am, I’d be awake, fed, caffeinated, and sitting with a pencil in hand writing fervently for the next 90 minutes. At the end of what would surely be an inspired writing session, what were once empty pages would be covered with well-wrought language, ready to transport readers (which would be lined up eager to consume said pages) to places of deep connections with a new understanding of the world we all live in. And I’d close my notebook, satisfied and eager to move on to the portion of my day dedicated to more practical endeavors, like work that pays enough money to pay the bills.

The real world and the brightly colored blocks on my calendar, however, seem to be in constant conflict.

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