would begin to talk about the work he had in mind

[keannu]

What does "he himself would begin to talk about the work he had in mind" mean? Did it hinder or help achieving his work? I don't get it.

32)Some people believe that nonverbal activity is especially effective for stimulating the writing process. A former student of mine said that riding a bicycle nearly always helped her figure out what she needed to write or rewrite. Dorothea Brande advises writers who want to recharge their creative batteries “to amuse yourself in ______________ ways. Instead of writing something, listen to a symphony orchestra, go by yourself to a museum, or go alone for long walks.” She talked of one friend who was working on a novel. He used to lie out in the garden and look at the sky until some family member came to join him for a chat. Sooner or later,he himself would begin to talk about the work he had in mind, and, to his surprise, he discovered that the desire to write the story disappeared as soon as he had talked about it.
Then he disappeared to a park bench every day and looked at pigeons for two hours. By doing so, he recharged his batteries for writing.

 

[bhaisahab]

"the desire to write the story disappeared as soon as he had talked about it."

What do you think this means, keannu?

 

[keannu]

I don't know

 

[tzfujimino]

32)Some people believe that nonverbal activity is especially effective for stimulating the writing process. [...] She talked of one friend who was working on a novel. He used to lie out in the garden and look at the sky until some family member came to join him for a chat. Sooner or later,he himself would begin to talk about the work he had in mind, and, to his surprise, he discovered that the desire to write the story disappeared as soon as he had talked about it.
Then he disappeared to a park bench every day and looked at pigeons for two hours. By doing so, he recharged his batteries for writing.

Hello, keannu.:-D

1. looking at pigeons=nonverbal activity=effective for stimulating the writing process
2. talking about the work=verbal activity=?

What do you think?

 

[keannu]

At first I identified the work he had in mind with "the desire to write the story", but it doesn't make sense. It seems this work is something else that can distract the desire, finally making the desire come true.

 

[lotus888]

When one writes, it's easy to get writer's block (a stall in the creative writing process). We sit there and want to write, but can't write. To combat that, we walk away from our writing and do something else to loosen our minds. Also, the act of doing something else creates experiences which we can write about. No one writes in a vacuum, except maybe Robert Perry.

To calm his mind, this person went out to the garden and looked up into the sky. Relatives came by to talk with him. He soon began talking about his writing project -- the one he's struggling with. He found that the act of talking about his project relaxed his mind. He didn't feel compelled to sit down again and struggle with his project. He was able to do other things which helped him recharge his creative process.




--lotus

 

[tzfujimino]

At first I identified the work he had in mind with "the desire to write the story", but it doesn't make sense. It seems this work is something else that can distract the desire, finally making the desire come true.

Hello.:-D
No, they are not the same thing.

I think "the work he had in mind" means "the work (he thought) he was going to/wanted to complete". He was working on his writing project, and he was struggling with it, as lotus888 says. I imagine that he probably thought he would get some ideas from his family by talking about the subject/work. However, to his surprise, it didn't work. The desire to write the story disappeared, (=he didn't feel like writing the story any more) which is not a good thing for him. After that, to get out of this situation, he went to a park bench every day and spent two hours watching pigeons. It worked.

This is basically how I read the passage.
(Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

 

[keannu]

Your opinion is opposite of that of lotus. I don't know which is correct.

 

[bhaisahab]

I agree with tzfujimino's interpretation.