A Goodreads user
asked
Elizabeth Gilbert:
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? During your writing career, has there ever been a time where you felt completely uninspired and just wanted to give up writing altogether?
Elizabeth Gilbert
I cannot remember a time before I wanted to be a writer. It's the only thing I ever desired, and I've poured my heart and soul into it since I was in my early teens. I've never wavered from it, and I can't imagine ever wavering for it. But this is not the only way to go about creativity. People like me are what I call "jackhammers" — relentless, confident, single-minded, focused. But there are other creative souls out there who I call "hummingbirds" — really creative and inventive people who don't have the single-minded drive of a jackhammer, but who spend their lives darting from interest to interest, trying all sorts of things and maybe never settling on anything. We need the hummingbirds as much as we need the jackhammers, because the hummingbirds do what I call "cultural cross-pollination" — taking ideas from place to place, and keeping things mixed up and interesting.
More Answered Questions
Heather Stewart
asked
Elizabeth Gilbert:
I always come up with what I think are great story or blog ideas. I've even outlined a memoir-type book, but I can't seem to have the patience to actually sit and write. Do you have a system or a time frame when you "make" yourself write or does it flow all the time?
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