creatives, the belief that they must be nice and worry about
what will happen with their friends, family, mate if they dare
to do what they really want to constitutes a powerful reason
for non-action.
A man who works in a busy office may crave and need
the retreat of solitude. Nothing would serve him better than
a vacation alone, but he thinks that’s selfish so he doesn’t
do it. It wouldn’t be nice to his wife.
A woman with two small children wants to take a pottery
class. It conflicts with some of her son’s Little League
practices, and she wouldn’t be able to attend as faithful
audience. She cancels pottery and plays the good mother—
seething on the sidelines with resentments.
We are traditionally rather proud of ourselves for
having slipped creative work in there between the
domestic chores and obligations. I’m not sure we
deserve such big A-pluses for that.
TONI MORRISONYou build up a head of steam. If you’re four days out
of the studio, on the fifth day you really crash in there.
You will kill anybody who disturbs you on that fifth
day, when you desperately need it.
SUSAN ROTHENBERGA young father with a serious interest in photography,