OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE

by John M. Floyd

A few years ago my wife and I attended an “opening” of the residence of the late author Eudora Welty, here in Jackson, Mississippi. While there someone mentioned one of Miss Welty’s odd habits (a superstition, almost) regarding writing: she wrote the ending of each of her stories and novels while seated at her desk in an upstairs bedroom that overlooks the grounds of Belhaven College. It is said that she usually worked on her manuscripts while traveling, both here and abroad, but that she always waited until she arrived back home to end them so it could be done at that specific location.

I enjoyed hearing about that because it satisfied the theory that nature and the outdoors is often something that creative artists find inspiring. Technically, Miss Welty wasn’t outside when she did those final pieces of writing; she was at her writing desk inside her home. But—again—her desk was positioned such that she could look north through her window at the lush green campus across the street as she wrote, and it was a view that she’d said she loved.

Swing shift

One of my quirks is that I enjoy writing while seated in a wooden swing in our back yard. My outside writing is done the old way: I use a black Foray marker and a yellow legal pad (which I suppose is my version of a laptop, since my only computer at the moment is a desktop), but I truly believe I’ve come up with some of my best fiction out there underneath those fifty-year-old oak and elm trees.

The swing does double and triple duty, of course — I often use it to rock grandbabies to sleep, or eat lunch there, or hide there when I’m supposed to be mowing the lawn — but most of all it serves as a writer’s aid. (By the way, that’s my swing in the photo.)

Gained in translation

What is it about the great outdoors that makes creative endeavors easier? Don’t ask me. I know only that it does. Something about it just seems to make the words and ideas flow more smoothly. The only bad thing is that stories composed offline have to be entered into the computer later, and for me that’s a boring task. The way I justify it is that I consider it rewriting, rather than just copying what I’ve already written in longhand. The text usually gets changed during in the process, so I think of the result as a second draft.

R & R

Let’s face it, part of the attraction of an outside writing haven is the “feel” of it: the wind, the sun, the sweet smell of grass and cedar and honeysuckle. And yes, I realize that the physical element can be a drawback at times. In my case, in the Deep South, it gets pretty damn hot and humid in the summertime, but even a warm breeze is better than no breeze, and our annual window of agreeable temps is probably wider than in some other parts of the country. (Even when it’s disagreeable, I’m sometimes out there anyhow, in cutoff jeans and a baseball cap in July or an overcoat and earmuffs in January.)

Another factor, if you’re in a natural setting, is the sounds of the outdoors: birdcalls, the chatter of squirrels, the rustle of wind in the trees, dogs yapping in the distance, even the sad squeak of my swing chains. They soothe the nerves. And while necessity might be the mother of invention, relaxation must be at least a close relative. Writing retreats in places like Maui and Tucson and the Poconos are located there for a reason.

A moveable feast

By the way, writing outdoors doesn’t always mean the same place. In the past, I’ve put together some satisfying (at least to me) stories on bleachers at a ballfield during our two sons’ soccer practices, or in my car with all the windows open in the driveway of our daughter’s piano teacher, or waiting for my wife on a bench at an open-air shopping mall. And if I’m dreaming up stories rather than writing them down, I often walk a half hour or so on our neighborhood streets or at the local track. If I leave the house with a plotting problem, it’s usually fixed by the time I get back home.

So if you’re having trouble with your ideas, or your storyline, or your characters’ motivation, here’s a suggestion: get thee out of the house. When it comes to physical exercise, studies have shown that huffing along on the treadmill in the den is okay if that’s all you can manage, but it’s better to use the nature trail at the park—and the same holds true for mental workouts. At least that’s my opinion.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get some fresh air …