The Creative Identity

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Have you heard of that Reverb thing dear reader? I am glad I did, so that I don't have to come up with my own writing prompt today. The purpose of this online initiative is to reflect on this year and to think about what's next. If you did Gwen Bell's #best09 last December (I can't believe that was a year ago!), then you will know what's coming. Except this year we ain't just reminiscing about what happened but thinking laterally both about the past and the future. Grab a writing prompt every day of December and run with it, in your journal, on your blog, with your camera, whatever. Read more →

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Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own. –William Hazlitt– In The Creative Habit Twyla Tharp suggests to pull the plug on reading for a week. This is supposed to be a prompt aimed at stimulating your creative output but I must tell that every time I think of it I break into a cold sweat. I could stop writing completely for a week (although... it would take some doing), but stop reading? Is she kidding? She may as well ask me to stop eating or brushing my teeth. I find those suggestions just as unfathomable and revolting to heed. But maybe you're a braver person than I am and would quite happily take a punt on that one. My version of this exercise on restraint is going to take place over Crimbo when I shall not write on here until after the Epiphany. I'm already feeling odd and worried about it, as if I were backstabbing myself (I'd love to see myself try actually), but I really do think it is a necessary step in order to focus on unfinished writing projects and this. But back to you, can you try what Twyla suggests? Don't read anything for a week, then write about it. Read more →

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I'm a galley slave to pen and ink. –Honoré De Balzac– Every time I hear someone say, in relation to returning to work in an office, 'I had to get back because I was getting so bored', I always think, you sad, sad, sad moron. If you're lucky you'll die before you get your pension, your legacy being a mountain of spreadsheets that mean nothing to anyone. And I'll tell you something else: being entirely jobless was traumatic for financial reasons but not once was I bored. In fact, the mere thought that being on the road at 7.45 am with crusty eyes and a dry mouth is in any way preferable and therefore less boring than strolling into Starbee at 11 am, fresh and rested, flinging the paper on the table and decamping until the afternoon is borderline immoral in my book. People who only find interest in their jobs don't deserve movies, music, museums, literature, games, travel, photography, wildlife, interpersonal relationships, food, makeup, shoes, bags, pets, knitting and coffee. There is only one thing that I would always do, no matter what, and that's writing. I cannot get bored. I am safe. What cannot you live without? Don't write about obvious things like food or shelter or the like. Write about something that matters to you at a subliminal level. Read more →

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Quantity prodices quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed. –Ray Bradbury– We're reaching the end of NaNoWriMo's first week and the net is a bit ablaze with talks of why it's good for you, why it's bad for you, and why it's anything in between. As for me, even though I am struggling a little to write these days (that's because I am so shattered in the evening; I drive for three hours a day to get somewhere that is only nine miles from home), I really do miss it when I don't. I feel like ideas are bursting out of my skull and that my life isn't lived but survived if I don't put ink to paper. I'll tell you something else: I've started to write during lunch as well, on sheets that I rip out of my non descript pad and which I then fold and hide in my bag (note the hide thing: my PhD supervisor said to me once that, for a writer, writing is like a secret lover. It has stayed with me, in every sense). But there are odd experiments going on all the time and I wonder whether someone who absolutely must write would become more or less productive after a self-imposed break. Don't write anything for a week. Disclaimer: do not try this if you struggle to write at the best of times. Read more →

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In reality, killing time is only the name for another of the multifarious ways by which time kills us. –Osbert Sitwell– I've said many times already that I can get in The Writing Zone really quickly. Very often, and perhaps, it may seem, unkindly, I've harped on that those who whine about not having time to write are amateurs. But, really dear reader, deep down I do know that what does not do anything for me does not need to be written off for everyone else too. Hence today I would like to bring The Pomodoro Technique to your attention. Did you know about it? It operates on the principle that we work more productively in small chunks of time, especially when we know that these units are broken off by specks of distraction. This doesn't mean that you can use this technique only when you're writing in the evening, as many fans use it in the workplace too. I've read the book, but I don't care much for it for reasons you know. It may well help you if you're seeking ways to improve your concentration. Try it this weekend. Read more →