Repetitive Thinking and Creative Block

Having just read my last two blog posts I realise that I have been repeating myself - what I thought was a new thought or revelation, I had actually already articulated in a blog post a month or so earlier. Should I be worried about this? Or is it just the way the human mind works: visiting and revisiting a problem until it is solved or at least explained?

For writers (and probably other types of creative) artistic block can be a major issue. For me writer's block is something that crops up again and again. I have got more used to it now though. It is like a tiresome old friend that turns up from time to time expecting a meal and a bed for the night and then stays for days until his welcome is well and truly worn out. I don't greet it with the blind panic I used to waste on it when I was a newer writer. I know that if I do the things that keep me inspired and unblocked - morning pages, artists dates, looking at art, reading poetry - then I will get inspired again at some point. It is when I neglect to do these things that my mind becomes all silted up and I can't even begin to think about writing. There are other things that impinge on my creativity too - too much teaching (I suspect that teaching - or at least the preparation - uses the same creative part of the brain as writing), reading too many novels, stress, noisy neighbours and watching too much TV are all things that seems to affect my ability to write.

Journals etc.

Just looked at my last two blog posts and realised that I have failed hopelessly in my mission to post a fragment of writing every day. I have however been endeavouring to write morning pages, and I am managing to keep up a visual diary - although I am not managing to do it every single day.

This week I have been reading Claiming breath by Diane Glancy which is a book of prose poems written over the course of one year. During this year Glancy's mother dies and also her house is broken into several times. Although these are important themes in the book, the over riding theme is that of the writing process and the idea of self and identity - and ultimately how all these things fit together. It is a fascinating and inspiring book, moving between prose proper and more experimental poems where Glancy plays with the form and with language itself.

It made me think that I would like to keep some kind of poetic journal myself, and seeing as it is my birthday this weekend - that seems like an ideal time to start. I will keep the journal for myself - but I am hoping that something good - some poems, or some kind of personal insight might come out of it.

On other matters Anna De Vaul and I are editing the next issue of Lighthouse - something that I am looking forward to and feeling nervous about in equal measure.

Resolutions and Bits of Poems

I am doing well with my new year's resolutions. I have sent some work out - not much - but some. I have been doing my morning pages most days and I have started a visual diary too. I started the visual diary for two reasons: 1) I miss making art, and 2) I want to see if it enhances my writing. More creative stuff has got to be good right? I have also been trying to put whole days aside to work on my poetry, although I think it would be useful if someone confiscated my broadband modem on those days!

Today I had the bright idea of writing a small poem about writing every day and posting it on my blog - well realistically it won't be every day, but a girl can try...

Here is today's effort:


Memory fragments -
the way smells can take you back
and fill your head with words.

Some Notes on Writing Practice

Just thought I would share the bones of a handout I am making for my writing class as we are looking at writing practice...

Some Notes on Writing Practice

Why do you write?

Fun

Necessity

Compulsion

For money/fame

To understand yourself better

All valid reasons (and you may have others) – although if you are writing purely for money or fame it’s probably best to turn back now before you are too disappointed (or send for the formula of how to write a Mills and Boon) because although some authors do attain these things through their writing, most don’t.

When do you write?

With the best intention in the world most of us find it hard to actually sit and down and get on with writing. My writing comes in flurries – I will have weeks where I write a lot and weeks where I write very little, but if I’m not careful those times where I write very little could stretch out into weeks and even months. Writing is a practice, and like cleaning your teeth you need to make yourself get into the habit of doing it.

Creative Starting Points

Classes and workshops - these are great for learning your craft, generating new ideas, getting feedback and generally making you write, but to continue developing as a writer you need to be writing and editing outside of your class too.

Reading - many budding writers are scared of reading in case it influences their work, but I cannot emphasise enough how vital reading is to the writer: especially the developing writer. You wouldn’t expect to be able to learn saddle-making without looking at other saddles and seeing how they are constructed, so why would you expect to be able to write poetry or novels without studying some finely crafted examples?  Theodore Deppe says in Worsmithery that “Poems are called into existence by other poems.” Imitation is the best way of learning. Read as a writer, if you like (or dislike) a poem ask yourself why you like it, and what can you learn from it. Read widely: poetry, prose, non-fiction, old and new.

Morning pages or journals – this is a type of reflective writing. It is best done in the morning if before your editing mind has time to kick in. Write two or three A4 pages of free writing – anything that comes – don’t edit, just go with it. Write with the assumption and intention that no one else will read it - there is no right or wrong way to do it. My morning pages vary hugely. If you looked through my journals you would find lists, affirmations, poetry, bits of stories, moans, critical writing, shopping and to-do lists, reviews – all sorts.

This type of writing has several effects: it frees you from brain loops (somehow the act of writing something down frees your brain from going over and over it), it makes you look at important issues, it puts you in touch with what matters to you and what you are interested in. Somehow the act of getting the small stuff out of your brain and onto paper has the knock-on effect of freeing up the creative process. No one can really explain why morning pages work but they do and many successful writers and creatives use them.

·         If you find the idea of several pages too daunting then build up to it gradually. You can start with a couple of sentences a day and go from there.

Trips and outings to galleries, museums and inspiring places - Julia Cameron calls this “filling your creative well.”  When I feel creatively blocked I go on a river trip or train journey or visit a gallery. Do whatever inspires you – read a book, go to the cinema, go for a walk. “Creativity, of any kind, doesn’t occur in a vacuum. There’s no creative output without some creative input, so don’t neglect to nurture your inner artist. Give that creativity something to feed on.” (Erin Riker)

Write things down – sounds simple but is a stumbling block for many beginners. If you see or hear something interesting or you have the germ of an idea WRITE IT DOWN! You may think you will remember it later, but in reality most of don’t. We live in a busy world where things are happening around us all the time – if a great line or idea pops into your head write it down as soon as you can.

Think about why you are writing in your chosen form – “The best writing can involve the biggest risk, so perhaps you should attempt the discipline that causes you the most problems because then you will be most fully engaged, and most surprised when something goes well.” (William Herbert in Wordsmithery, Palgrave, 2007)

“poetry is like taking a still photograph, whereas prose is like filming with a movie camera” (Paul Auster, a novelist who started life as a poet)

“The poet wants everything, as many meanings as possible, to happen at once; the prose writer wants everything to happen in the best possible order.” (William Herbert)

Don’t over-plan – especially in poetry – a poem is exciting when it takes an unexpected turn, and often that turn is as unexpected for the writer as it is for the reader. Take your idea and see where it takes you, you might be surprised. If you already know exactly what you want to say then the poem will not be surprising.

Don’t be afraid of editing  - editing is your friend, although it’s often hard to make yourself do it. Editing can make a good poem great.  A common mistake amongst budding writers is to think that everything that they write is perfectly formed and that editing will compromise the works artistic integrity.  Fine – but it is extremely rare to read a writer that would not benefit from some editing.  If you want your poetry to move beyond your notebook and into the world beyond you need to be prepared to edit and workshop your work.

Once you have followed an idea to its conclusion leave it alone for a while.  Come back to it later with a fresh mind and a fresh eye. Have you said too much or too little? 

“Most good writing is concise…Here’s your chance to delete unnecessary words, find one precise image to replace a clutter of abstractions, and remove anything that can be taken out without loss to meaning or overall effect of the poem…There is usually room for compression even in an advanced poem." (Theodore Deppe)

                                         

A Bit About Inspiration

I have been trying to observe my writing habits this week. I already know that I write much more if I write my morning pages regularly but this week I have also noticed that a catalyst to writing (or a change to writing style) can be a change of notebook.

Earlier on this year I went to a poetry workshop at Writers' Centre Norwich with John Mcauliffe and he talked about how his poetry writing was affected by the size of notebook he chose to write in. He said that he had started taking a bigger notebook out with him so that his writing was less limited and had longer lines. I had never really paid attention to this before and have experimented with varying the size of book I take out - although for convenience I do normally end up with quite a small one.

What I noticed this week, however, was that my writing became more sparky when I started writing in a new notebook. I always have several notebooks on the go - my writing is messy I guess, a bit like me, I generally have a large notebook (A4) that I use for morning pages and writing at home and one or two smaller ones that I carry around for writing in when I am out. I also try and buy notebooks that are quite attractive - it seems to help my creative process somehow to have an inspiring notebook, so it's great when I get given them as presents - they may stay on a shelf for ages but I always use them eventually. This week I noticed a book that had been sitting unused on my piano for quite some time, it had been given to me as a present over a year ago and for some reason the time had never been right to use it. Yesterday, however, I picked it up and opened it and the ideas just started to flow. It was a little like having a change of scene but without having to go anywhere.

The other thing that is nearly always guaranteed to trigger writing for me if I am feeling creatively constipated is reading.  If you don't read other poets you can't be a good poet yourself - I really believe it as simple as that! It would be a bit like trying to create art without ever having seen any art or knowing what art is. For me it is a vital part of the creative process. I do, like anyone else, have those times where I try to read book after book and nothing inspires me and in those times I usually turn to the few favouritess that I go back to again and again. I have a whole host of favourite poetry books, but there seem to certain ones that galvanise me into wanting to write more than others - I'm not sure why those books in particular - it must be something about the voice or the writing style. Two such books are Budapest to Babel by Agnes Lehoczky and Like Something Flying Backwards by C.D. Wright.