Writing in the Moment: Some Views on Writing

"Thinking never hurt a novel."
First, the title describes an impossible situation. Writing is always done at a remove, 'Emotions recollected', as Wordsworth said, 'in tranquility.' However, being in the moment, engage' with the universe, is essential to the quality of the written experience. One cannot 'be' a writer and create legitimately. One can only 'be' a citizen of civilization, a civilizado, living in the 21st century, being in the moment and stepping back occasionally from the chaos of innovation to write.
It is important, in this postmodern age of diversity, to create, maintain, and write from, a psychological space of intellectual and emotional legitimacy. One cannot cast oneself adrift on this sea of innovation and disquiet and expect any result but pure escapism, which is a valuable commodity but a less than serious genre. A novel is an entertainment, created and evolved to divert, and it is well to keep in mind that there is such a thing as intellectual entertainment, such as chess or a good translation of Aristotle. Philosophy is incredibly entertaining to those so inclined and while we are all differently talented and differently placed in different psychological spaces, one cannot overemphasize the intellectual content of a work. It is important to say something. A tree gave its all for that book and I don't even want to talk about what goes into an ereader.