Reading this made me very excited to someday read your novel, Catriona. Thank you for sticking with it through all those ups and downs. I totally agree that the a rich*, interesting life can only make the writing stronger and more textured. Looking forward to part two :)
* rich, in terms of sensory experience and fullness. I don't mean rich in the financial sense!
Aw thank you for this lovely comment Clare and for appreciating this journey. I agree that when I look back I am proud of having stuck with it despite a lot of life events which could have made me stop. I think equally writing that novel gave me a sense of direction and purpose through some hard years. Part 2 is a bit more immersed in writing. I know you also have your own novel journey, which I am sure is also rich with your experience.
Oh the novel is calling me! I promised I’d get back to it, and then more urgent work (deadlines! pay checks!) pulled me away. But I’ll get to it soon 🤞
This is so honest and so recognisable! I think so often it’s painted as lack of drive if you don’t draft a whole novel in 109 days of early writing sprints or whatever, but the truth is, as you say, it takes time - not just to write but to think and digest and layer your work. Also, what a tumultuous time. It is so hard to weather these things, and writing can feel like another source of guilt when you can’t get to it, but like you say, you need to keep afloat, whatever that takes. Thanks for sharing this first part of the journey!
Thank you for this comment Bonnie and sorry for my slow reply - I think it got lost in my notifications. Yes I agree - I think some of the current mainstream thinking on creativity is too mixed in with commerce and productivity to be useful. I also find I read so many books that lack depth and soul and I think that probably comes out of that market-focused style of writing. Not saying that the length of time you spend on a creative project is going to directly correlate to quality - but I do think not forcing speed and giving ourselves the luxury of allowing the process to teach us, guide us and be magical - does mean not requiring it all to happen in a short time frame.
Reading this made me very excited to someday read your novel, Catriona. Thank you for sticking with it through all those ups and downs. I totally agree that the a rich*, interesting life can only make the writing stronger and more textured. Looking forward to part two :)
* rich, in terms of sensory experience and fullness. I don't mean rich in the financial sense!
Aw thank you for this lovely comment Clare and for appreciating this journey. I agree that when I look back I am proud of having stuck with it despite a lot of life events which could have made me stop. I think equally writing that novel gave me a sense of direction and purpose through some hard years. Part 2 is a bit more immersed in writing. I know you also have your own novel journey, which I am sure is also rich with your experience.
Oh the novel is calling me! I promised I’d get back to it, and then more urgent work (deadlines! pay checks!) pulled me away. But I’ll get to it soon 🤞
This is so honest and so recognisable! I think so often it’s painted as lack of drive if you don’t draft a whole novel in 109 days of early writing sprints or whatever, but the truth is, as you say, it takes time - not just to write but to think and digest and layer your work. Also, what a tumultuous time. It is so hard to weather these things, and writing can feel like another source of guilt when you can’t get to it, but like you say, you need to keep afloat, whatever that takes. Thanks for sharing this first part of the journey!
Thank you for this comment Bonnie and sorry for my slow reply - I think it got lost in my notifications. Yes I agree - I think some of the current mainstream thinking on creativity is too mixed in with commerce and productivity to be useful. I also find I read so many books that lack depth and soul and I think that probably comes out of that market-focused style of writing. Not saying that the length of time you spend on a creative project is going to directly correlate to quality - but I do think not forcing speed and giving ourselves the luxury of allowing the process to teach us, guide us and be magical - does mean not requiring it all to happen in a short time frame.