The Writing Room

 

George Simenon, the famous Belgian creator of Maigret and one of the most prolific novelists of any time, would turn out a novel in  around ten days. When he was 'with novel'  as he used to declare himself to be,he was not to be disturbed. In five to seven days the first draft would be completed. Written with a passionate intensity and never even the slightest hint of an edit. Then he would spend the next three days knocking it into shape.  A process that the great man  describes, as one of 'Write Write Write' followed by 'Cut Cut Cut'. A whirlwind of a process that would leave many of us lesser mortals a bit dizzy, and more than a little drained. Now of course most of us do not choose to work in such an intense fashion. Make no mistake however, work is what we do. The more we practice the art of writing the better we become.The more work we do, of necessity, the more time we spend at our desks. Ours is a sedentary although physical endeavor, an oxymoron of