An original work of fiction. Characters and destinations are not real users or travel services.
A plan for every hour
The clockmaker keeps a schedule as orderly as the clocks in his shop. For Sunday afternoon he plans half a book, a drawer to organize, a small exhibition, and a letter to a friend. After lunch, flowers open on the tree at the corner. He pauses at the door. By the time he looks away, his neat timetable has slipped.
Trying to catch up
He hurries through a few pages, empties the drawer, then pushes everything back. The exhibition is nearly over. His letter begins to resemble another list of tasks. Eventually he takes the unfinished page outside. A child beside the tree is counting fallen petals. Losing count does not seem to matter.
Leaving a space
The clocks in the shop still keep perfect time. But the calendar gains an empty box called “things that may happen.” It does not make the clockmaker more efficient. It does help him finish a letter that feels like a letter. Instead of explaining his delay, he begins with the tree at the corner and the flowers that opened yesterday.
Make it a small practice
- Leave one observation period in a creative session with no required finished result.
- Record what happens before deciding what it should become.
- Use one detail as the beginning of your next piece of writing or drawing.
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