Madeleine is adamant that a writer who doesn’t practice by writing daily is not a writer.
Two quotes by Madeleine L'Engle on why we must all practice our art or craft.
The paradox is that the creative process in incomplete unless the artist is, in the best and most proper sense of the word, a technician, one who knows the tools of his trade, has studied his techniques, is disciplined. One writer said, “If I leave my work for a day, it leaves me for three.” I think it was Artur Rubenstein who admitted, “If I don’t practice the piano for one day I know it. If I don’t practice it for two days my family knows it. If I don’t practice it for three days, my public knows it.” (from Walking on Water)
Hugh and I heard Rudolf Serkin play Beethoven’s Appassionata sonata in Symphony Hall in Boston many years ago. It was one of those great unpredictable moments. When the last notes had been lost in the silence, the crowd not only applauded, cheered, stamped, we stood on our chairs: this doesn’t happen often in Boston.
But if Serkin did not practice eight hours a day, every day, the moment of inspiration, when it came would have been lost; nothing would have happened; there would have been no instrument through which the revelation could be revealed.
I try to remember this when I dump an entire draft of a novel into the wastepaper basket. It isn’t wasted paper. It is my five-finger exercises. It’s necessary practicising before the performance. (from A Circle of Quiet)
We all need to practice what we do. MH
