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In this week’s three-and-a-half minute podcast, you'll hear about the conditions and circumstances under which E. B. White wrote—and those under which Glynn Young and Ann Kroeker continue to write.

I allude to a passage from Stephen King's memoir On Writing that I read years ago. It awoke in me a jealous and obsessive craving for an office door:

The [writing] space can be humble (probably should be, as I think I have already suggested), and it really needs only one thing: a door which you are willing to shut. The closed door is your way of telling the world and yourself that you mean business; you have made a serious commitment to write and intend to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. (King 151, Pocket Books - a div. of Simon & Schuster, NY, copyright 2000, personal copy)

I longed for a door. A door, I thought, would help me become a productive, efficient writer. I had a writing space. I just needed a door. Yes, a door ... to shut.

If only I had a door, I could write.

Websites and resources mentioned in the podcast:

"The Daily Routines of Famous Writers" (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings) with E. B. White's reflections on imperfect conditions.

"On Being a Writer: Writing" (Glynn Young, Faith, Fiction, Friends)

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King)

Note: Amazon link does not match personal copy from which I quote, so pagination may be different

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On Being a Writer

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