nytimes.com
Many years ago, on a Sunday, I was home writing a new project and the work felt labored and forced. I was not having a good workday. The phone rang and it was Steve, who was in a similar state of mind with a project he was working on. We chatted for a while—always a treat—and then I hung up and decided to take a break. I went and turned on the TV
... See moreJames Lapine • Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created "Sunday in the Park with George
Here are some other techniques people use to access and maintain the zone:
- Introducing a long delay between when you do the work and when it is shown to the world. Annie Ernaux writes about this in A Simple Passion, a memoir about how she becomes obsessed in a banal way with a man who is having an affair with her—the thought that others will read
Substack • Notes | Substack
Dear Beatriz and Brendan,
About twenty-five years ago, I made an offhand and somewhat uncharitable remark about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There was no malice intended, it was just the sort of obnoxious thing I would say back then to piss people off. I was a troublemaker, a shit-stirrer, feeling most at ease in the role of a societal irritant.
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