I keep a hotel room. I have everything taken off the walls, and I bring in yellow pads, a Roget’s Thesaurus, a dictionary, a bible, a deck of cards, crossword puzzles and a bottle of sherry (red wine). When I approach the door, it is with utter apprehension and anticipation. It is frightening. It is what I am. I sit at a little table and play solitaire. My grandmother used to say when I was young, ‘You know that’s not even on my littlest mind.’ And so I determined that the human being has a big mind and a little mind. The cards occupy my little mind so I can get to the big mind and hear the language.

Writers’ Routines: Maya Angelou

Two things here.

a) For a while, I developed a (bad?) habit of munching while working. Almost incessantly. Mostly healthy stuff (though I’m pretty sure I could have a reasonably decent conversation with Bill Herbert about decadent delicacies and bad eating habits we might have in common…), but munchies all the same. I wonder if this wasy my way of engaging my “little mind” so the big mind could carry on with more important things?

b) Writers’ Routines is excellent. I’d considered doing something like it myself a while back, and still might, though of course I’d have to invest some effort in differentiation— if something’s already being done, what could I add to the enterprise? Whether or not I find a satisfactory answer to the question, Writers’ Routines is worth a read. Go see.

Source: books.google.com