Silence:

35 Replies

 

Gang Gang Cockatoo photo: Max Thompson

Gang Gang Cockatoo
photo: Max Thompson

I work best in silence. My dream life responds to an undisturbed sleep, especially on waking. This is necessary for me to capture and remember; otherwise my thoughts get distracted and disappear. It doesn’t take much! My beloved loves news and listens to the BBC in the night with earphones that work a treat.

He tells me I snore. Well, he doesn’t like to believe it, but he does too. So if I can get to sleep first that is a bonus. Fortunately he doesn’t complain about this. I have found that if he’s snoring I try to imagine the ocean, with the waves representing his snores. This allows me to relax and gradually drift off. Dreams are an essential part of my psyche and allow my imagination free reign. This nocturnal excitement surpasses the passivity of day- time.

My family always said at breakfast, ‘Oh no, not again!’ So I’d get them to tell me theirs, and they loved to share their dreams. Fortunately this is a shared delight these days, discussing our very active dream lives.

Now the children have grown and departed my thoughts are my own. I do notice when the grandchildren come to stay, I treat it as a vacation and don’t attempt to write. I’m lucky enough to have a room where I can write. It is small and intimate with a window looking out to some greenery. My beloved is ensconced in the studio, so our cohabitation happens mostly at meal times and at night, which suits us both.

Music has been put on hold because of Millie, who is gradually adapting. She cries in her loudest voice when music offends her… Our previous pair of spaniels loved music. It must be the highly-strung nature of the poodle/spaniel cross, which brings intelligence but also sensitivities unknown to the placid nature of spaniels.

 

Writing space                                                                                                                                Where do you produce your best writing—at your desk, on your phone, at a noisy café? Tell us how the environment affects your creativity. Ben Huberman

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/writing-space/

 

35 thoughts on “Silence:”

  1. bkpyett Post author

    I guess I’m lucky that Chris has the studio, so that I’m unaware of his radio/ music or audio book. Knowing he’s there is enough. Your set up sounds good too, within sight but separate.
    Your room sounds beautiful!

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  2. hilarycustancegreen

    I need silence to write. Like you I am lucky enough to have a small, closable garden-facing room of my own. My husband works in a nearby room (two glass doors, usually open, between us). It works amazingly well though he often has a radio or CD on, so I put headphones on for silence. However, music is permissible when blogging, thanks for the reminder. Love the gang gang.

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  4. M T McGuire

    I need silence to write, too and I treat the school holidays as a vacation. It’s tricky if I’m in the middle of a project but otherwise it’s quite good to ‘rest’ stuff and then read it afresh the next term.

    Cheers

    MTM

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  5. bkpyett Post author

    That is an especially wonderful thing to say Raroto! Have you done anything about your crocodile story? I would love to see you publish this story as it contains so much of your culture, so much for children around the world to appreciate! We can spur one another to achieve more… I get lazy once I’ve written something and don’t want to take the next step.
    Are you like this too? Perhaps we can spur one another along!! 🙂

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    1. bkpyett Post author

      Dear Raroto, I do appreciate your gesture, but I have a ‘No Award’ policy. I do this for fun, not recognition…. but I do love to be appreciated, so Thank You Raroto! ❤ ❤ ❤

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      1. raroto

        Awww I’m sorry I missed the policy, Barbara. Please forgive me. In any case, I want you and every one else who reads this to know that your writings and thoughts are inspirational to me and have spurred me on to do my best in every posting, and for that I thank you! 🙂

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    1. bkpyett Post author

      I love getting your comments Dixie! Thank you! Though I find it hard to imagine trucks as a soothing noise… Perhaps it’s because I was brought up next to the mouth of a river, where the waves could be heard from time to time, brings back memories of that time….that continue to be soothing.

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  8. Dixie Minor

    I love this, Barbara. I like it really quiet and dark for sleeping. My beloved snores as well, and I , like you, try to imagine soothing sounds. Plus we use a small fan for its soothing white noise. Instead of the ocean, I sometimes imagine the sounds of late night trucks that we would hear at my grandmother’s house in South Georgia when I was little. This was a looong time ago, and there was something soothing about those trucks that we could hear from the highway, along with the fan, when we were trying to fall asleep on our pallet on the floor, on a HOT summer night! In the morning, I like plenty of reflecting time, coffee in hand. But when I write, I like a little music.
    I love to try to remember my dreams! They often are so rich and symbolic, but I don’t think I remember them nearly as well as you do! I love the details of your post. You have a wonderful way of making things really come alive!! 😍

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    1. bkpyett Post author

      Dixie, thank you for sharing your deepest thoughts… we all need ways to overcome little irritations! I loved hearing about your childhood too. Dixie, if you want to remember your dreams more, try writing them down, even in the middle of the night, jot a few words that will trigger the memory. The more you do that, the more dreams you will remember, if you want to, of course! ❤

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    1. bkpyett Post author

      Sounds exciting that you have the builders there! I love seeing home improvements … I still yearn to change a few things here, it’s a slow process as Chris doesn’t share my enthusiasm….You’ll appreciate it when it is finished! 🙂

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    2. bkpyett Post author

      Thanks Prior for reading and sharing. Yes we’re trying to introduce Millie gradually to music.. And we are hopeful she will improve!
      I like the dark too for sleeping.. 🙂

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  13. raroto

    Hey another picture of a cockatoo..just the other day Christine’s put up one too on her blog. I’ve been contemplating on raring a cockatoo for many months now. I wonder if this is my ‘calling’. Hm.
    As I was reading this, I try to imagine you in your writing room with the gang gang perched on a stand behind you and Millie laying by your feet… (Ok stop, raroto, don’t scare the lady..)
    Heh 😉 Happy Sunday, Barbara!

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    1. bkpyett Post author

      Please tell me if you follow through with the parrot idea! I love the mawcaw too, one of those would be great! As a child my friend had a cockatoo, who talked. We loved it. When he heard the gate click, he’d say,’Caught any fish Ted?’ (That was my friend’s father.)
      Hope you have had a happy Sunday too Raroto! Lovely to hear from you. 🙂

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