Writing a long work is regarded by many as a difficult endeavour. Oh, I’d never be able to write a book, I’ve heard lots of people say. All those words! But the interesting thing is, and this is what I’ve found when in the middle of a long writing project, is that it’s not so much difficult as it is just plain… long.

The length of the journey is usually what I struggle with the most. I imagine it’s what most people who are engaged in long projects struggle with. And I have made a study of such people. Because a long project requires not just presence of mind, but stamina, perseverance, and good organisation.

The reason I make my bed each morning? Because I need to feel organised, and tidy before I can be creative. Not because I am a neat freak, but simply because I need a clear space in my head in order to work. That’s right, if my bed is not made, then my head is cluttered. It could be weird, or nonsensical. That may be the case, but to me, it’s an important part of my readying routine.

Having said all this makes me sound like one of those supremely organised people. I’m not. I like to have a plan. And I like to think I can stick to it. But often I don’t. Things happen. Unexpected things, as well as fully expected, just-plain-too-busy-to-accomplish-anything-else things. When these come knocking, then you just have to put the long project aside and tend to what’s most urgent.

But if there is an underlying routine to the chaos that sometimes ensues, then it’s possible to pick up the threads at a later time and remember what you were up to in order to continue. A routine is the predictable and the familiar in what sometimes seems like a sea of confusion and fluff. Because the fairly constant qualities of confusion and fluff is that they shift aside momentarily, or disappear altogether. It’s in these moments that we can gather our thoughts and return to the long project.

The organisation that a long project needs is not just organisation of the project itself, but organisation of the life you wrap around it. If the life that wraps around a project is in disarray, it would seem inconceivable to expect the project to make any sense. Though I’m sure there have been many brilliant artists who have produced works of great magnificence out of the ashes of the bonfire of confusion. But I just don’t think that’s me.