It seems I am always writing. I have written in doctor offices, hospital rooms, coffee shops, during quiet time as babies napped, while standing in countless lines, waiting for a mechanic to fix my car, sitting with the family watching tv, cooking and eating dinner, and while I listen to blaring music. None of those situations impede my ability to concentrate on constructing sentences, forming paragraphs, and searching for unique word combinations. In fact, the more distractions, the more I write. My mind focuses to block the cacophony.
Reading, however, requires solitude and silence, and binge reading is my secret indulgence. Others might consider a spa day as self-care, but there is nothing I enjoy more than the luxury of reading a book from cover to cover. My idea of a glorious Saturday night is curling into my chair with a book. If I have selected wisely, I turn the pages, blissfully unaware of time passing. Time stretches as the pages turn. Thoughts surge, forming deep whirlpools of unconnected facts, and the well of inspiration fills. The only interruption is the sound of my pen scratching notes in the margins. Tired, inspired, I feel my neurons rewire themselves. In the early Sunday morning quietude, with a steaming cup of coffee, I fill my notebook with ideas.
Does reading fill your creativity tank?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 
Reading always used to, before the pandemic. Now I cannot seem to concentrate on anything for too long. I am beginning to doubt everything… Since becoming a full time carer, life seems to be going on without me…
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I understand that completely. I am the primary caregiver for one individual and the guardian of another. I urge to do what you can to carve out some time for you. It is more difficult with this pandemic, but it also makes in so much more important. Hang in there, my friend. 💕💗💕
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I am going to do my best, Jo…
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I’m rooting for you.
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Bless you!
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This is an appealing narrative about writing and about reading. You add such helpful and likable detail. It seems I can do either in many places. I often write in coffee bars, but I read there as well. I try to keep a book and paper and pen with me so I have something to do when standing in lines or waiting for the doctor. I read at my place, too, though I don’t at present have a ritual for it. I wish I did.
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Maybe it is time to figure out where/when you read the best. 😊 Reading in places where there is a lot of distraction is not optimal for me. Not sure why those locations don’t bother me when I try to write. Glad you like the details.
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