When I'm 64...

Thoughts on writing and aging.

Welcome to Everything Essay! where every few weeks I feature an essay (always a great read) and talk about the art and craft of the writing. Then, on the in-between weeks, I write about the books I’m reading and other things on my mind—writing is always the throughline.

When I’m 64—four weeks from now—I’ll age out of what researchers call “midlife” (roughly ages 40 to the early sixties) and describe as my most creatively productive years. So what happens to my writing life now?

A couple weeks ago I was reading Jane Friedman’s newsletter Electric Speed (3/28/26), and she introduced a study “that shows we reach our most productive years in midlife. Not only that, but writers and philosophers in particular can maintain a steady output through to retirement.” My plan has always been to keep writing and publishing beyond the standard retirement age of 65. The gift of being a writer is being able to continue to do what I love as my career and my work evolve into my avocation over time.

As I dug deeper into the studies researcher Keith Sawyer presented, I was bummed to see that on the graphs he included showing the relationship between age and creativity, the lines slope downward pretty sharply after 60, although that didn’t surprise me.

The other point Sawyer emphasized (and Jane F. did too) is: “The key to successful creativity is productivity; quantity leads to quality.” Ugh! Since I entered my sixties, I’ve made a conscious effort to maintain a better work life balance. I’ve reprioritized a walk with a friend over word count. I want to be less about producing and more about living.

But then I thought more about Sawyer’s productivity = quality equation. Creative writing, specifically nonfiction, is what I do. I teach it, edit it, and write it. But since I turned 60, I’ve made deliberate decisions, sometimes difficult ones, to prioritize time for my own writing. I shut down my creative writing school, Diablo Writers’ Workshop, after eight (great) years, and I’ve backed off on developmental editing. I still teach and edit, but now I write more. The issue for me isn’t how much I produce, but what I choose to produce, and that shift is leading me to more creative work.

Sawyer included recommendations for how to maximize your creative output, and a couple of his ideas resonated with me:

• Work hard and finish projects. The aim should always be to put your creations into the world.

  My mantra is simple: Success happens when you hit submit. Whether it’s a submission, a manuscript, a pitch, a query, or a proposal, nothing will move forward until you put your work and ideas out there.

• The beauty of creativity is that it’s often collaborative. [And] you can expand your creative potential by collaborating across age groups.

  I wrote a collaborative essay with a writer, a few years older than I am, who lives in Melbourne. A great creative exercise and fun. I’ll post the essay once the anthology is published. I’m co-writing a craft book with a younger colleague, a big commitment, hard work, still fun. I meet up with a writing partner, who is more than 15 years my junior, every other week for a three-hour work session—an essential part of my writing life, and yes more fun. I write and teach for the fine folks at Chill Subs, who are all decades younger—I learn so much from them, and it’s always, always fun.

  If you’re writing in later midlife, or beyond, I’d love to hear how your relationship to productivity and creativity has changed. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about writing and aging as I continue to do both.

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  Speaking of the folks at Chill Subs, I recently wrote an essay about my late arrival to the MFA for their newsletter, and you can read it here, click below.

  Considering an MFA After 40? You’ll Want to Read This.

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Thank you Jane Friedman for introducing me to Keith Sawyer’s research.

Thanks to gamapix for the birthday cake photo via pixabay.