The Circumstances

"It's not how well you are able to make a movie.  It's how well you are able to make a movie under the circumstances."  George Lucas

 

Eighteen years ago, I spent my evenings sitting on the roof of an old Civil War-era mansion in the Garden District of New Orleans.  I was a 23-year-old with a head full of poetry and ideas and images and stories.

I would sit for hours listening to the sounds of the night. The muffled small talk of strangers.  The wind in the trees.  Passing cars.  The patter of rain.  Occassional gunfire.

And I would write.

Not a week passed that I didn't walk or drive past the house in which F. Scott Fitzgerald once lived.

Not a week passed that I didn't walk up to the courtyard gate and look at the house once occupied by George Washington Cable.  A house that Mark Twain visited.

Not a week passed that I didn't stalk Ellis Marsalis and the other local jazz gods playing clubs, hotel lobbies and funeral parlors, among other nooks & crannies.

If I could go back in time and have a conversation with myself, that time in New Orleans would be my moment of insertion.

It was a defining period for me.  It's where I honestly felt that I was put on this earth to be a writer and poet.

By the end of that year, I would put that dream on a shelf and not acknowledge it for another three years.  And I would struggle for an additional ten years after that trying to rediscover my voice...the voice I had found in New Orleans.

Know what I would tell myself?

I would say, "Befriend the circumstances."

Somehow find comfort in the discomfort.

Because you will never have enough time.

You will never have enough knowledge.

You will never have enough energy.

You will never have enough skill.

You will never have enough courage.

You will never feel ready.

And you will never have enough support to write the perfect book.  Or article.  Or essay.  Or poem.  Or song.

It's not how well you are able to write something.  It's how well you are able to write something under the circumstances.

That, I think, is what separates professional writers and artists from aspiring ones.

And, as I'm certain you have discovered, there are always circumstances.

Right?

 (Photo by Ben Bitzenhofer on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.)

Keitharsis is a blog by a writer for writers, poets and artists.  New essays are published each Tuesday and Thursday.  A new creative challenge is published each Wednesday.  Please tell you friends!

Comments

[Eileen]

Keith, What a great post. "Befriend the circumstances. Somehow find comfort in the discomfort." I needed to read this today. Thank you for writing it.

[Keith Jennings]

Thank you so much, Eileen!

[Joe Bunting]

Beautiful. I'm wondering what your circumstances were.

[Keith Jennings]

Joe,

The usual. Career growth. Moving from state to state. Girlfriends. Starting a family.

But really I think I was scared. By the time I was 27, I had accomplished all my original goals and found myself empty. I was scared that if I "succeeded" as a writer, I would find that empty too...and then I would have nothing left to hope for. Nothing left to dream about.

Thank God I got past that! But I wasted a huge chunk of my life, when most writers are their most productive.

[Larry Carter]

There are always going to be things that come up, some distraction to the dream or to the voice. You can listen to it for years, like I did, or you can get busy figuring out a way to do it. It may take some creative time management, but it's possible. But you have to be willing to overcome the circumstances.

[Virginia Lee]

An excellant post Keith. This is definitely insightful advice to young and old writers and artists alike. Carpe Diem! Life is always full of circumstances. They shape and mold us. To not lose our dreams is the challenge. Its so nice to see that you have hung onto yours and share your gifts with us all. Thank you. ~ Virginia Lee

[Jason Vana]

There are always circumstances that hinder us from doing what we want or what we dream it should be like. I try to remind myself that I have to start somewhere. I might not be able to have groups at 100 campuses right now, but I can at 2. Then 5. Then…it all has to start with what I have and can do now.

[JeremyStatton]

We will never be prepared enough.

[Keith Jennings]

Larry, Virginia, Jason and Jeremy...

Great extensions of this idea! Thank you so much for your comments!

[Adrian W.]

Even just last night, I was thinking "Well, today was a full day, which is why I don't need to feel bad about not writing," but something inside me knew it was just an excuse. And there'll always be excuses. Here's to hoping I can put them away long enough to make something of myself.

[Nikki]

This has been on my mind a great deal lately. So many moving targets...how do I stop long enough to capture the inspiration in between? Because the inspiration never stops. Like cars passing along the highway, they just zip by...

[Keith Jennings]

Adrian,

There will always be excuses, indeed! But we learn from our mistakes. Not our successes. So we shouldn't beat ourselves up. Just make adjustments that allow us to constantly get better.

Great comment! Thanks!

[Randy Elrod]

What an incredibly beautiful post. I LOVE this: "If I could go back in time and have a conversation with myself, that time in New Orleans would be my moment of insertion."

Thanks for you ongoing inspiration!

Randy

[Keith Jennings]

Nikki,

If you were a gardener and could choose between two plots. And you knew one plot consistently produced fruits and vegetables while the other rarely did. You would choose the one that produces, right?

I like to think that the source of inspiration and creativity favors fertile people too. Better to give one idea form and let 40 other ideas go, than do nothing with 40 ideas.

There will always be more ideas and inspiration.

[Keith Jennings]

Really appreciate your feedback, Randy!

You've been writing some powerful and beautiful essays, as well.

[Nissi]

Keith,
As a writer, I couldn't agree with you more. Befriending the circumstances...hmmm...someone should write a book for writers with that as the title. I will cut out that paragraph and give it to my high school seniors because there is never the time or place to write. I have two toddlers. My editor gave me 24 hours to produce an article regarding modern agriculture, for teens. I worked from 12 in the afternoon until four a.m. My kids were walking around sockless. I took five minute breaks here and there to feed them and give them some TLC. I abhored the circumstances, felt like a horrible mom and promised never to write again under the circumstances. Learning to befriend the circumstances just may be a better idea. Trust me, this morning my kids were wearing socks and seemed completely untraumatized that their mom had been writing all day yesterday. Awesome idea!

[Keith Jennings]

Nissi,

I have three kids. And I try to show my older two what I've written and explain why I wrote it. I also show them how readers react, so they can see that creative writing is how I participate in community with others.

I completely know how you feel, though. There is no escaping the tension! So we might as well figure out how to use it.