They also serve who only sit and write - Anne Rooney

I have been away this week (remember 'away'? Not in your own home). I was at a writers' conference (if any work people are looking) or retreat if we acknowledge the relatively small amount of official conferring that happened. It was wonderful to see writerly friends I've not seen for years, and valuable to mull how the pandemic has affected us and how we have responded. I chaired a session on this, and aside from the varied personal impacts, one thing emerged which perhaps needs saying loudly and clearly. It's something of an addendum to Dawn Finch's post on the value of the creative industries two days ago. 

The pandemic, like a war, has been a curious split of terror/anguish on one side and crushing boredom on the other. The undoubted heroes of the pandemic are the frontline workers who have dealt with the first part, endangering themselves to help others. But for the greater mass of people who do not have covid, or have had it but without needing hospitalisation, part of the problem has been coping — including coping with feeling that we are not contributing much. Don't underestimate the value of staying in and not catching covid; that's a very valuable contribution. Coping is hard, and has included mental heatlh struggles for very many of us. How would we have got through the interminable lockdowns without Netflix, box sets, TV, music, books, magazines and newspapers (online or off), YouTube, blogs... add your creative fix of choice. The creative industries gave you all those. They brought meaning, comfort, and distraction in that dragging, drawn-out struggle. They are not only worth £13 million an hour to the UK economy; they also saved our sanity and perhaps some lives in the drear desert of lockdown. They gave us imaginative and emotional connections, and tools to survive. And they gave us something to talk about on Zoom or by phone to our separated loved ones — something that went beyond the daily figures and fears. To fellow writers who worried that 'all' they could do was write — we spun a vital lifeline for some readers, and are still making the lifelines that can be thrown to people in the coming post-pandemic turmoil. And to anyone who doubts the value of creative work — next pandemic, you can try doing it without your books, your TV or your tablet/laptop, without your music collection or your radio, and see how that goes.

Anne Rooney

Out now: Salariya 2020

 

Sustaining a Lifelong Creative Practice - Heather Dyer

Following a creative pursuit can sometimes be lonely and frustrating. Here are five books I’ve found particularly inspiring because they contain practical advice from other writers and artists who’ve ‘been there’:

Three Marriages: Reimagining Work,Self and Relationships by David Whyte

David Whyte is a poet. Only indirectly about creativity, this book is about integrating our work, our relationships and inner selves in order to live a fulfilled and productive life. Writers often talk about finding 'balance' between day jobs, family and creativity - but Whyte's advice seems to be to knit them all together rather than think of them as separate. He includes nice examples pulled from authors’ lives.

The Everyday Work of Art: Awakening the Extraordinary in Your Daily Life by Eric Booth

Booth explores that small ‘pull’ that makes us want to make art in the first place, and shows us how to fan those flames. This book, ‘illuminates the artistry we all practice, and it enables us to reclaim the fun and satisfaction that is already happening unnoticed right under our noses’.

Creative Quest by Questlove

This book might best be described as a riff on retaining your creativity throughout your career. Questlove is a musician. One of the things he says is that, as emerging creatives, we are hungry to be influenced by others, but as we solidify our practice we become more concerned with influencing others. Stay open to being influenced, is his advice. I also like his description of what collaboration should look like: “Collaboration isn’t about what’s there so much as what’s not there. It’s the jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing and a pile of bright pieces nearby.”

Creating a Life Worth Living: APractical Course in Career Design for Aspiring Writers, Artists, Filmmakers, Musicians and Others by Carol Lloyd

This is an accessible how-to-sustain-your-practice guide for emerging creatives. The book is described as helping the reader ‘search memory for inspiration, understand his or her individual artistic profile, explore possible futures, design a daily process and build a structure of support.’ In the past I’ve drawn from this book for exercises for an 8-week ‘Developing Your Creativity’ course.   

Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life by Chase Jarvis.  

Chase Jarvis is a photographer who now runs a successful online learning portal. The book includes a lot of advice about how to find your 'tribe', network virtually and in person, and market your work. 

What all these books endorse is listening to that early intuitive pull, exploring by doing, drawing inspiration from living, creating a regular practice (however short) and staying open to flow by letting go of expectations and setting out anew, each day, into uncharted territory. If you have your own recommendations, I'd love to hear them.

Heather Dyer is a consultant in writing for children. She provides writing and publishing advice through The Literary Consultancy, The Writers' Advice Centre for Children's Books, and privately. If you’re ready for feedback on your work-in-progress contact Heather at heatherdyerbooks@gmail.com. 

Heather’s children’s novel The Girl with the Broken Wing was one of Richard and Judy’s book club picks, and The Boy in the Biscuit Tin was nominated for a Galaxy Best British Children’s Book award. Heather also teaches creative writing for the University of the Creative Arts, and facilitates workshops in creative thinking techniques for creatives and academics.