Writing – When Life Gives You Lemons

Creative Urges

MS may have taken away a great deal, but in return it has given much, namely: the opportunity to fulfil my creative desires. Since childhood, I have loved art and making things. Add that to observing and enjoying nature and it equals bliss.

Perhaps you don’t feel that you have time for such self-indulgence. Perhaps, but there are ways of solving even that, which I’ll address in a later post. But suffice to say, that if you do want to create – do. The benefits it brings far outweigh any losses and I guarantee that you will be happier (and I believe healthier) for it.

Putting pen to paper

Everyone expresses their creativity in different ways, but my outlets are essentially writing, art and cooking.

Every morning, I write my morning pages: noting dreams, events of the previous day, musings. It is a form of meditation that requires no skill, only a pen and paper. I like to go outside, because the natural world always seems to stimulate me creatively whilst filling me with joy. If the weather is inclement, I have my shed.

The earlier I am able to do this, the better. Getting out before the rest of the world ensures peace and quiet.

**Morning pages in the morning sun**
Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

It is a discipline. I don’t always feel like it and thought I didn’t have time, but once I’d made the commitment to write every day, I did. Curiously, life is easier this way. Each morning, pages need to be filled. Time can be found; topics explored.

The same applies to this blog. Initially, I worried that finding a new subject and writing 1,000 words per week would be too much, but somehow, several years on, I’ve managed it. Like everyone, I prevaricate a bit (I’ve just done my DuoLingo practice instead of writing) but ultimately, I get my bottom on the chair and write.

So many of us wait for inspiration, but inspiration comes from doing. The more you do, the easier it becomes and the more you want to do. Trust me!

A student of fine art

For many years now, I have been visiting my wonderful friend and art teacher Mary. At 86, she knows pretty much everything there is to know, and she is expert at sharing her knowledge. But I only see her once a week and I needed a prompt to do more art. I began with a light-hearted 15 minutes a day drawing book.

I finished the book and was ready for more. The habit of daily drawing was established and I wanted to test myself further. On a visit to the library, I noticed some excellent art books for sale in their little shop. I bought them and worked through those also. Here was excellent advice and a chance to copy how it’s done – which is itself a great way to look and learn.

**Learning through copying** Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

Art is so much more than simply drawing. It requires observation skills, accuracy, good fine motor skills and maths. Learning 3D perspective almost made my head explode, but Mary guided me through. My High School geometry enabled me to copy a fabulous folding flower. Maths finally had a purpose.

Getting crafty

Crafts – since they are associated with women’s work – are unfairly delegated below the fine arts. Yet, they require every bit as much skill. They are also (as women generally are) rather more practical!

**My indoor happy place** Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

When we moved here, I fulfilled the dream of my own craft room. I made the curtains and decorated in bold colours. Your own space is vital. Even if you can only commandeer a corner of a room – do so and make it yours.

Almost every day, I mount the stairs to do a project. It may be as small as an envelope or as big as a quilt, but if I don’t do something, I get cranky. And the more I do, the more confidence I gain and the more I want to do.

Below is a little notebook I made for calligraphy and the basis of a book vase made from an old paperback. I’m itching to get more done, but I need to finish this first!

The aesthetics of cookery

Cookery opens up a whole new area of creativity from the breath-taking cake creations of my friend, Penny, to the exquisite presentations of Mariia’s meals.

We can use our creativity to imagine new ways of using ingredients. I’ve made apple and blackberry vinegar; Jeff is making mulberry vodka.

And craft and cooking can marry, as below. Having deconstructed my husband’s old shirts for their fabric, I cut circles for jam tops and finished with vibrant rickrack.

**Jam dressed to impress!** Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

Re-fuelling

It is impossible to be original all the time and the most successful artists invariably draw inspiration from others. Klimt was clearly influenced by the Impressionists and the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement – but it doesn’t make his work any less impressive.

We mere mortals need all the help we can get. I frequently buy reference books from the library shop, watch YouTube videos, buy art books and go to galleries. Sometimes these act as a catalyst for my own work; sometimes I just admire theirs, but we cannot hope to be creative without ‘refuelling’ every so often.

Benefits of a creative life

Though I doubt that many of us choose a creative life for its benefits, they are extensive.

Total concentration on a project from knitting to composing a song pushes out the thoughts that threaten to unbalance us. For those who struggle with meditation, this is your alternative.

Keeping our minds active and challenged is key to staving off the nightmare of memory loss and dementia. Using our hands or bodies in a way that strengthens them, helps keep us supple even as we age.

Our mental health is also likely to benefit, as a mind fizzing with ideas and creative challenges is unlikely to slump into a stupor of despair. As we hone our observation skills too, we are likely to be increasingly aware of the beauty surrounding us and grateful for it. And if there is a key to happiness, it is gratitude.

We will sometimes fail, or make a mess or have to throw it away. Things will seldom turn out perfectly. Accepting this strengthens our ability to cope when life itself doesn’t work out as planned either. Mary’s favourite artists are potters, because they are reminded every day how little control we really have and simply accept it. (Of all crafts, ceramics is the most nerve racking – pots collapse; objects in the kiln explode or crack; glazes bubble and craze).

And if disaster strikes? It is an opportunity for learning, or perhaps takes us in a new direction. No matter. We enjoy the process and the outcome is a bonus.

Blank

Yesterday, I finally received the news that my dear friend was out of danger and embarking on the long road to recovery. My brain, which up until that moment had been a flurry of worry, was able to empty itself of chaos. Unfortunately, it jettisoned everything else too.

I floated through the day until I reached bedtime and realised the hours I’d set aside to prepare today’s writing were gone and worse, I had no idea at all what to compose. Turning to my husband, I asked what I should do. ‘Write about writer’s block,’ he said and I thought, yes, I can do that.

It wasn’t until graduate school that I learned about composition and that it was more a craft than the romantic notion of inspiration set down on paper. There were ways to create creativity. There were games you could play; tasks you could set yourself that would make composition easier.

I sincerely wish I had learned this earlier, but I kept reading and acquiring this advice and passed it on to my own students.

Facing the blank page

I’m sure that we all remember the dread of facing a blank page days or hours before an essay or report was due. Most of us will find all sorts of jobs that need doing: sorting paperclips, making more coffee or tidying the bookshelves. Anything, anything is better than facing the wall of white that needs filling. This is as true for professional writers and artists as it is for the rest of us.

But the professionals will find strategies to get them started. They are myriad, so I will only mention a couple that work for me here (and which I have employed to write this).

Be reassured: everyone finds creating hard at some time or other. (Occasionally, the gods smile on us and give us inspiration, but it is a gift to be enjoyed, not relied upon.)

So, how do we start?

Finding a way in

Most of us work best in a visual format, which is partly why writing is so hard. A great idea is to harness our visual skills with our writing ones. My preferred method is the spider plan, though you may prefer clouds or mapping.

Spider plans (add googly eyes if you wish) aid both with creative thinking and structure.

A spider has eight legs and often searching for ideas to fit those final one or two, prompts us to think of something a little more unusual. (Baby spiders drawn from one of the topics takes us deeper still). You can add more or less, but eight fully developed paragraphs is sufficient for most writing tasks.

**A spider diagram**
Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

My topic was the blank page and I just jotted down all my thoughts on that. Going clockwise, it works as a plan.

A blog requires images too, so I made those. I also put in the headings that I intended to use. The worst part was over – the post page was beginning to fill.

Getting into the habit

Few of us write much any more. We email, we text, we call. We seldom write structured letters or longer pieces, so when we do have to write, it is strange and hard.

**Getting pen to paper**
Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

Writing, like anything else, improves with practice and, as someone who was chronically afraid of writing, I have found the practice of it the thing that makes it now a pleasure. Each day, I try to keep my journal up to date. No-one but me will read it, so if it is gobbledygook, who cares? Occasionally, I might write something good. If nothing else, I have a record of my time on the planet.

Writing daily, whether it be in a journal or a more expansive email to a friend, allows us to keep our writing muscles strong. We are using and thinking about words and how they impact others. We listen for rhythms, for awkward phrasing and repetitions. We try to make our meaning clear and hopefully a little entertaining. We are considering our audience.

What holds true for writing is equally true for art. Artists too struggle to begin. They too must practise daily. Art students keep an art journal for their teachers; professionals create their own prompts.

The Internet is positively awash with art challenges. Perhaps you are asked to work in a particular medium every day or only use one colour or respond to a visual or verbal prompt. They are all ways in and an opportunity to be part of a community.

Or you can start with something random and just make a mark. I love curved lines, so that is what I began with. Then I added some simple branches – is it a leaf or a feather?

Start to play

And once those initial lines are in, I’m hooked. What if I added lots of colour in stripes? What if I added coloured patterns instead? In a few minutes, I’ve initiated my curiosity and more importantly, the desire to continue.

Since my blog was needing to be written, I had to stop there. But if I have time later today, I might work on them further. And even though they are just playful doodles, they are illustrating how colour works together, how certain patterns sing. When you create something, you inevitably learn something too.

There is no muse, just you

Unfortunately, the mythical muses are just that – a seductive fairy tale which fools us into thinking creativity is more magic than graft. Yes, sometimes we may feel like inspiration has come from the divine, but dig a little deeper and you will find your mind has been searching and planning all along. There are no short-cuts.

There is only our willingness to try and fail and try again. What prevents most of us from fulfilling our creative potential is not laziness or lack of talent but the sheer terror of laying our souls on the page/canvass/fabric and being found wanting.

And yes, it is terrifying. Every week, I fear that I will lose all my readers, that they will yawn and leave after the first paragraph or not read my post at all. Creativity involves a huge amount of risk. Yet risk is what gives us the thrill when we occasionally get it right.

Ironically, the only thing that can help us get over our fear and improve our offerings is to keep honing our words and sharing our vision.

What would you like to create? Now is the best time to start.

Random Idea Generator

Whilst recovering from my Covid booster at the weekend, I confess that my brain has not been working at optimal levels. By Tuesday evening, I was still in a bit of a fog and had not settled on this week’s post. ‘Any ideas?’ I asked at dinner. ‘I need an idea generator.’

Mariia and my husband Googled it and yes, such a thing does exist, but the site was a tad suspicious. My husband then went old school and suggested taking a random word from the dictionary. ‘Worth a try,’ I thought.

For reasons best known to himself, he picked my rather neglected Swedish/English dictionary and fortuitously opened it in the English section. With high drama, he flicked the pages, closed his eyes and then plonked his finger on an entry: Writing.

‘When in need, the universe will provide,’ my husband beamed and I had to agree that this was an especially happy accident, not least because writing has been so much on my mind of late. So, writing it is.

Composition

My first thought was that writing consists of two things: the physical act of writing and composition. I’ll begin with the latter.

**A writer’s desk** Image: Green Chameleon on Unsplash

The myths surrounding composition are legion, but the most persistent and damaging of all is the notion that one cannot compose without the aid of the Muse – for which I blame the Romantics. Writing, like all arts, is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. What makes it to the page is often the essence of what has roiled around the author’s brain, been scribbled on now scrunched up paper and selected from a swathe of research. And when inspiration is especially coy, it’s time to do some editing, further reading or even typing things up (as I have done in my slightly addled brain state this week) because it is all valuable in attaining one’s goal. If I sat waiting for the Muse, I would be lucky to write one sentence.

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic; grace and power to it.
Goethe

I love this quote, because beginning it is all. Unlike in my youth when I was cowed into inaction, because, who could write like Shakespeare? I now just get going. It may be rubbish; it may consent to being shaped and polished or it may simply help me clarify my thinking, but in beginning, I am setting in motion the very things I need to occasionally reach success.

Morning pages

Three journals and several months later, I am still doing my morning pages as recommended in The Artist’s Way. This crazy, morning free-writing works. Once written, my head is released from the worries and fretting that normally clutter one’s thinking. Just writing three pages every day gives you a solid proof that you can always find something to write about – even if only rambling thoughts. But it hones your skills and sometimes an interesting idea or line or image is birthed in these pages.

Poetry revival

With our lovely Ukrainian staying with us, I have become a little time (and often energy) poor. My novel plans have had to take a back seat, at least for the moment, but I still need to maintain my intention to enter a writing competition or submit a piece of writing every month. So I have reverted back to the form I used when my children absorbed almost all my waking hours: poetry.

I’ve written and submitted four original poems. Their chance of success is minimal, but the discipline of writing for a specific audience under specific time restraints is reward enough for me. I’ve also dug out my old poems and dusted them off. Anything worth keeping, I’ve typed up again and I’d like to share one with you which most perfectly speaks to the season.

Indian Summer

Just when I had given up,

you returned,

as bold as Leo, ascendant.

My skin tingled in anticipation,

longed for touch,

the ripe exposure of naked skin.

I shucked my outer layers,

worshipped you,

a sunflower supplicant.

Ignored the warning signs:

packing swallows,

bees humming valedictions

to bleached lavender stems,

pregnant dews,

dawns slow to shake sleep.

Then one morning, I woke,

eager, full of plans

to find you gone.

Writing buddies

Another small step I have made in my writing life is to enlist the help of a writing buddy. A dear friend writes (and performs) the most brilliant monologues and since we were talking about our writing, I asked if she would be my writing buddy – prodding me to create when necessary, rejoicing or consoling my victories or losses. Each Friday, we need to send each other something and I am very excited to have a companion in this often isolating profession.

The art of writing

**Twenty-six letters and infinite variations**. Image: Karen Costello-McFeat;

I have always loved the physical look of words and being taken on by an accomplished calligrapher has made me even more enamoured of the art of lettering. My teacher Mary, at eighty, is never short of brilliant ideas and approaches. She accepts no slovenly work and pushes me to think far outside my comfort zone. I confess that sometimes our lessons descend into coffee mornings, but I always come away enthused to do more. My rather long, current project has been to produce an alphabet for my granddaughter. I am almost there!

**Three to go!** Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

Pen and ink

Writing by hand may be a bit unfashionable, but I still find it is the best way to generate ideas. After all, a pen and a bit of paper take up almost no space and can be used anywhere. I prefer to use a cartridge pen with colourful inks. When I make a change, unlike on the computer, I can see the original without erasing it. I can also doodle, make crazy cloud plans and so forth which my computer skills don’t allow.

**Penning thoughts**
Image: Karen Costello-McFeat

Once, I remember listening to an author who wrote everything in long-hand. ‘Why?’ asked the interviewer. ‘Because it is slow,’ replied the author. And she’s right. When you take time to write, you gain a little time to think. It has its merits.

Personally, I mix and match. Pen and ink for thoughts; computer for writing up. This post began with a randomly generated word, progressed to notes, to outlines and then to this. It is a process I am only just about to finish. The idea generator worked this time, but I think I won’t rely on it. Had my husband’s finger landed a few millimetres out, I should have been saddled with: wriggle, wrinkled or wretchedness. They would certainly have stretched my creativity.