[Daily 1000 Characters] Writer's Routine <10> - Choi Jin-young's 'Open Ending'

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for the 'One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters' newsletter readers. The transcription content is carefully selected according to daily and monthly themes from Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, notable columns, and famous speeches. Today, we introduce ＜Open Ending＞ by writer Choi Jin-young from the book ＜Writer's Routine: A Day of Writing Poetry＞, which captures the daily lives of young writers and their mindset when writing. Word count: 1,071 characters.

In the long days of summer, I leave work at six in the evening; in the short days of winter, I leave at five. Using winter as a standard, I stop writing and leave my room by no later than 5:30 p.m. Even if I want to continue writing sentences, I get up from my seat. Because I have to take a walk. Walking is as important to me as writing.

Except on days of heavy rain or snow, I walk for about an hour every evening. While walking, I watch the sunset. I see the sky, never the same for even a moment, the drifting clouds, beautiful trees, and blooming and withering flowers. I feel the wind. I listen to the birdsong. I greet the neighborhood dogs and cats. Watching the setting sun, I think about the Earth's rotation. Observing the slightly changing direction of the sunset with each season, I feel the Earth's revolution. Unlike my static room, everything outside is moving. Making sounds, moving, changing. Appearing and disappearing. Every evening during my walk, I see and hear these things. I feel the movement of the world.

When sitting at my desk working, I focus only on whether I am writing well or not. My vision narrows and my thoughts become narrow-minded, and if I fail to write properly, it feels as if something terrible will happen. While walking, I realize how absurd and laughable the sense of crisis or impatience I felt in my room was. The world does not care about my work. Nothing terrible will happen just because I cannot write. If I cannot write, it is only that I cannot write. And if I can write again, that is fortunate for me first and foremost. It is about cutting out the illusions and delusions I held while writing. Deflating the inflated burden and putting writing back in its original place. Separating the writer me from the everyday me. These are the things that happen inside me during my evening walks.

Like a dog, I look forward to my daily walk time. When I walk, my mind feels lighter. When I am angry, moving my arms and legs vigorously and walking briskly seems to reduce my emotions accordingly. When I am depressed, walking slowly while listening to music seems to lighten my feelings. Moreover, walking is good for back health. I love the moment I put on my sneakers and step outside after writing my daily share of words.

- Choi Jin-young and 6 others, ＜Writer's Routine: A Day of Writing Novels＞, &(And), 15,000 KRW