The Creative Identity

Stephanella Meets Ben Johncock

There is a certain oddity about Twitter. You may never have met a person but you will remember when he moved from London to Southwold, when his daughter was born, when he passed Emma Watson in the street, when he got his iPad, when he wrote about it in The Bookseller and lots of other minutie. But then, as Nora Ephron says in a spectacularly insightful observation regarding online interaction in You've Got Mail, 'The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something but I just wanna say that all this nothing has meant more to me than many somethings'. As we collect specks of information about people we begin to get interested in them, their work and their lives in a way that the more classic methods of social exchanges just do not allow. When some of my offline acquaintances ask me how I can possibly make friends online, I always reply that it is extremely easy because you can sort the wheat from the chaff much more quickly and precisely. So is Ben Johncock, also known as JC, wheat or chaff, dear reader? You be the judge. For a long time I thought the guy was Ben John Cock which at first I thought a bit cruel, then slightly amusing, then surreal. But then, that's a nom de plume that would stick, wouldn't it dear reader? Surely beats mine. JC is one of those lucky bastards who writes... Read more →

Stephanella Meets Valerie O'Riordan

Valerie was one of my first followers on Twitter and one that I felt qualified to hook up with immediately by virtue of her proximity to me. She too operates from Manchester and she too has taken a left turn at some point in the recent past, when she enrolled from an MA in creative writing after having worked at the BBC. Well, imagine my immense delight a few weeks ago when I saw Valerie's tweet from the Bristol Prize award ceremony, when she said, 'And I just went and won the thing!'. I guess that, like most writers, I felt that the success of one of us is the success of all of us. Just look at how delightfully startled she looks! Priceless! The Bristol Prize is one of the most prestigious prizes in the short story arena (yeah but... watch how BIG The Creative Identity Short Story Competition is going to get!) and one that has rapidly grown over the past three years. Valerie has bagged the prize with a very short short story (it's only 350 words long!) which is featured in the anthology with the other nineteen that soared above all other entries. I am currently planning a podcast with Valerie for The Creative Identity eCourse and I must admit to be looking forward to it enormously. I have read the winning short story and I really would love to know how a writer can take up someone else's identity so beautifully and, seemingly, easily as... Read more →

Stephanella Meets Jody Hedlund

I found out about Jody Hedlund via her agent's website which I urge you to visit immediately, then get back here quick. [Digression: Rachelle's site always makes for awesome reading, not simply because of the incredibly sound advice that she hands on to aspiring writers, but also for the comments she gets. Why the comments? Because I like a good laugh. Despite Rachelle's experience and understanding of the industry, despite her patience and good nature, despite her taking time writing her posts and engaging with her readers, she always, always, always gets amateurs telling her that, no actually, she is wrong and that they know better. Compelling, if only a touch depressing, reading.] So I investigated who this Jody was and navigated to her online home. I was impressed. No, I was IMPRESSED. And do you know why? Because this is a writer with a family (no, not just any family, but one including five little kids and various pets) who successfully landed an agent, a multiple-book publishing contract and finds time to write articles about the writing process on her site, three times a week, while always engaging with her readers. Does that make you feel just a tad small dear reader? Perhaps you complain that you don't have time to write because Twitter takes up all of your waking hours? Yeah, well, exactly. Jody was the writer who therefore inspired one of my favourite posts, the one about not having time to write, where I suggested we all... Read more →

Stephanella Meets Amelia Critchlow

WARNING: as always with my interviews, I am biased, but this time I am biased even more, I am biased to the nines, I am biased times two. I met Amelia last year when we did Unravelling together, but we really hooked up at the beginning of this year, when she passed me on to her dad for some admin work he required. Her dad, Professor Critchlow, is so unbelievably kind, down to earth and amiable that Amelia herself immediately 'made sense', if you get my drift (gosh, I feel like speaking in clichés today... bring them on!). Amelia is an artist whose online showcase is rich and multi-faceted. From textile to paper-based work, from 3D models to little cute labels, she moves into a creative land filled with joy and self-expression and often punctured by little lost creative sheep whom she inspires weekly. If you too are the sort of blog-reader who follows link after link late at night, wondering why on earth not trying that and that and that as well, then you'll find plenty to coax you into art at Amelia's place. Today she answers my questions about her writing identity because... wouldn't it be interesting to know how a visual artist approaches her writing? Let's see, shall we? What is your idea of perfect writing? My idea of perfect writing is something that is 'different' from the norm. Something that is written from the heart, and something that encourages one to think. I enjoy works such... Read more →

Stephanella Meets Philippa Moore

I've been aware for a while of the impression I must have given due to the authors I've invited to answer The Creative Identity Questionnaire. When a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine said that she will never be on here because I only go after people who are already published, I smirked to my GMail as I knew what was coming. I am not interested just in authors who have already landed agents and publishing deals and today you've got proof that writing is always joyful, that one can write about anything and everything and that writing itself is one of life's greatest indulgences. Philippa's blog (Phil for short, naturellement) is a lovely place where to read about love of books, writing, food and travel, all of those things that make life so exiting and fabulous. I don't even remember when I started reading it, but I do know that what attracted me to it wasn't just the colour green (as it happens, my favourite too) but the copious images of coffees and lattes, of cheese, wine, and food in general. What would this secret novelist answer when presented with my questionnaire? Phil works in publishing and is currently typing away at her novel. I won't tell you much more about her past writing successes, because she does it all eloquently herself below, but I will tell you that her blog is the perfect example of what every would-be writer should always keep in mind: write for... Read more →