Issue #242: Why ‘Fallow Periods’ Are Necessary for Creativity and Life

And an all-time favorite poem.

There’s a tangle of bare branches at the end of my neighbor’s driveway that I spent weeks going out of my way to walk past. Each day, I rounded the corner of our block, my anticipation heightened by each budding bush and tree I passed on my way—daphnes first, then cherry blossoms, followed by wisteria. Finally, overnight, the tight lilac blossoms exploded, releasing their intense, powdery perfume.

The timing felt uncanny, given the recent progress I’ve made on the novel I’m working on. After months—years, really—of dormancy, when I could barely write a word of fiction, it feels like everything is suddenly coming together at once. My outline is fleshed out and the moleskine where I’m handwriting my first draft is half-filled with messy paragraphs; arrows connect ideas and dialogue that keep coming to me.