Floodlights and Goalposts

An online commonplace book

Nick Cave’s encouraging words

Hello everyone,

Here’s a piece of writing I enjoyed today.

From Nick Cave’s blog – The Red Hand Files, Issue #67

A reader asked:

How much time do you spend answering these questions? Thinking of a response? Researching for a factual (where necessary) response? Writing, editing and moulding the response? The fluidity of your responses seem like an almost spontaneous stream of consciousness, but the conciseness, the beauty, the lyricism, the depth of meaning and the way the response pulls together within its own universe belie a great deal of time. How long does it all take?

– BRETT, PORT PIRIE, AUSTRALIA

Nick’s response:

Dear Brett,

Fucking ages.

Love, Nick

Writing takes time. Good writing takes ages.


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