In many ways, theatre is more rewarding for a writer. I used to think it was like painting a wall - that when... — Lee Hall

In many ways, theatre is more rewarding for a writer. I used to think it was like painting a wall - that when the play is finished, it's done - but now I realise it's more like gardening; you plant the thing, then you have to constantly tend it. You're part of a thing that's living.

Author: Lee Hall

Insight: There's something counterintuitive here that resonates beyond theatre. We often think of finishing something—writing a book, launching a business, raising a kid—as the moment you're done. You've built it; now step back. But Lee Hall's insight about gardening captures something truer: the best things we create don't stop needing us after completion. They need attention, adjustment, sometimes rescue. This matters because it changes what "finishing" actually means. A play only becomes real when actors perform it night after night, each performance slightly different based on the room, the mood, the audience's energy. But the same logic applies to anything you care about—a relationship needs tending even when it's "solid," a skill atrophies without practice, a team's culture shifts if leadership stops paying attention. The work doesn't end; it just transforms. What's secretly freeing about this is that you don't have to be perfect at launch. A garden thrives not because you planted perfectly, but because you show up consistently. That takes pressure off the initial moment and puts it back on something you can actually control: regular presence. That's often more doable—and more human—than trying to create something flawless in one go.