And then when I worked for Robert Graves, one of the marvelous things about that experience was the way Robert worked all the time. Something would interrupt, or someone would come to the door, and Robert would deal with it and then go right back to work. Robert did everything in longhand. I was impressed by the way he worked. He was a wonderful model. One of the great things for Robert was that there was no telephone. Eventually he had a wind-up phone in one of the corners of the house. But for quite some time, if you wanted to get in touch with Robert, you called in town and a message was sent. The telephone is a tremendous distraction. For years I didn't have one, and I don't think I've ever really gotten used to it.

I've found that the best thing for me is to insist that some part of the day--and for me, it's the morning until about two in the afternoon--be dedicated to writing. I go into my room and shut the door, and that's that. You have to make exceptions, of course, but you just stick to it, and then it becomes a habit, and I think it's a valuable one. Flaubert said that inspiration consists of sitting down at the same table at the same time every day, and I think that's the way one should look at it. If you're waiting for lightning to strike a stump, you're going to sit there for the rest of the your life.

WS Merwin interview at The Pedestal

link path from the unwavering :::wood s lot:::