#about creativity

Being creative is hard work.

Writing, art, music, theater, etc etc so on and so forth-- it all takes so much effort. It takes so much drive. Ambition. And that's true whether or not you are creating for yourself, or creating for the masses.

Drive to finish, ambition to succeed. Success doesn't have to be from the external, of course. It can be from the internal. From yourself, feeling success at having completed that long worked on novel, or the meticulously designed art, the song finally sung without any mistakes.

As a librarian, you would think this kind of consideration would come to me often. That couldn't be farther from the truth. You see, I only came upon this thought when speaking with our founder this morning. She was deep in thought, hard at work, typing away at the keyboard in front of her. I suppose "speaking with" is something of an exaggeration. It as a lot of "Not right now, E." and "I'm at a breakthrough, E. I haven't been so sure of it in weeks." and "You'll make me lose my train of thought--write me a note, please."

Weeks, I thought. For some that could go on for months. And I know she sits up there in her office every morning for hours, putting together both the fictional and the remembered. Who knows how long even with her breakthrough how long it might be until the shelves will be graced with her latest work.

So, to anyone out there doing their utmost in a creative discipline, I wish you all the best.

And if you'd like to stop and take a moment, the Levari Library and Archive is here for you every day. You need only take a walk to the nearest corner and into the intersection between two trees. Not everyone gets it on the first try.

Sincerely and truly yours,