I read about writers who have routines. They write at certain times of the day. I can't do that. I am always writing-but in my head.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the individuality of the creative process, emphasizing that inspiration can come at any time and does not conform to a schedule.
Jamaica Kincaid reflects on the personal nature of writing and creativity, suggesting that while some writers thrive on structured routines, her own inspiration is an ongoing internal dialogue. She implies that creativity isn't bound by time or traditional methods, but rather exists continuously in the mind, demonstrating the unique ways artists connect with their craft.
In practice
This quote could be used in a writing workshop to inspire aspiring writers about the varying methods of creativity.
Something settiled inside me, something heavy and hard. It stayed there, and i could not think of one thing to make it go away. I thought, So this must be living, this must be the beginning of the time people later refer to as 'years ago, when I was young'.
Gardeners (or just plain simple writers who write about the garden) always have something they like intensely and in particular, right at the moment you engage them in the reality of the borders they cultivate, the space in the garden they occupy at any moment, they like in particular this, or they like in particular that.
I have no credentials. I have no money. I literally come from a poor place. I was a servant. I dropped out of college. The next thing you know I'm writing for the 'New Yorker,' I have this sort of life, and it must seem annoying to people.
I didn't think of myself as an outsider because of my race because... where I grew up I was the same race as almost everyone else... It is true that I noticed things that no one else seemed to notice. And I think only people who are outsiders do this.
I come from a little island with the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. I come from, really, nowhere, and for me, the fiction and the nonfiction, creative or otherwise, all come from the same place.
The English language started out as a distortion in my life, but nothing remains the same, and so the distortion is now just normal. That is one of the things that will happen to all distortions: They become normal and turn into something else.
Only lies offend me, never honest counsel.
Pain is a treasure, for it contains mercies.
There is a difference. You watch television, you don't witness it. But, while watching television, if you start witnessing yourself watching television, then there are two processes going on: you are watching television, and something within you is witnessing the process of watching television. Witnessing is deeper, far deeper. It is not equivalent to watching. Watching is superficial. So remember that meditation is witnessing.
If God treats you well by teaching you a disastrous lesson, you never forget it.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
You shouldn't expect people in the past to do things they couldn't have done.
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