Day 27
1 hr journal + 30 mins editing + 15 mins planning
+ 1 hr planned writing
The main take-away for me has to be that the glamour of the “struggling artist” is a pernicious myth; being unhappy does not make us more creative, and believing that an artistic life is inherently unhappy is such a missed opportunity to enjoy the creative path.
There is a striking overlap between those who have mental health struggles and are creative. There are, of course, striking overlaps between those who have mental health struggles and are NOT creative. In fact, it seems there are striking overlaps between mental health struggles and just being human. Perhaps it’s because creative people are more expressive about it that we associate it with them.
However, I want to look at the nuance, and how it gets muddled.
I think part of it is causal. Those who pursue creative paths often create an environment for themselves which can be mental unhealthy. Getting away from the usual job circuit and into a mysterious marketplace brings adventure and freedom, but also endangers the things we generally like to feel: security, predictability, reward, material wealth, approval, social routine. Creativity brings children happiness and excitement; we know that it’s fun to play. Does something switch in the adult mind which makes creating depressing? No, I don’t think so. I think what switches is the rules we put around it, and what we make it mean about ourselves and our lives.
I think another part of the overlap is communicative. Those who have travelled difficult mental ground know that they can bring it into their work, either directly, in a powerful exploration of mental struggle, or indirectly, through creating believable characters with depth.
But I agree that mental unhealth is not necessary for creativity, and for the most part makes it harder. It is normal — perhaps even predictable — for people who have chosen to disrupt their lives for uncertain gain. But it doesn’t need to be so strongly correlated with artistic output that we mistakenly believe it is a precondition.
So I love that Jacqui’s coaching mission is to help people find the happiness, not just the survival, in the writing life. Good for her.
Journal
I do have a problem with the words “self-love” but I don’t have a problem with the principle or associated actions. I think it’s common for us to build up resistance to a widely-used phrase, even if we don’t criticise what it’s designed to do. Perhaps because it gets misused or stretched, and starts to lose meaning. Or perhaps we just don’t like the way it’s worded. I prefer “self-respect” or “self-help” to “self-love”, because I’m not sure what love means. But I think that the daily habits I thought of to support myself as a person and writer achieve the same results:
- a mind-clearing practice of some kind – exercise, yoga, talking with a friend, watching tv
- getting outside and moving, where research and ideas can synthesise, my mind can roam, and easy inspiration will come
- a way to release the distracting tension and worry I have about being a writer
- reading
- making progress on a writing project
Of these, I find 3 the most mentally difficult and 4 the most practically difficult. I love reading but it takes effort and unless I am in a strong habit or very absorbing book, I tend to divert to easier sources of entertainment instead.
Exercise
- Make a commitment to your self-care which you will continue in weeks to come — consider making it known to others
- Option 1: 1,000 words (I added 30 mins editing + 15 minutes planning): carry on
or
- Option 2: 1,000 words: use one of four prompts
My response
- My commitment from the above list is reading. I’ve been lax with it recently, but it makes such a difference to my sense of progress and general confidence in writing projects.
- I chose just to “carry on” with my scene from yesterday, as none of the prompts fit with where I am in the story (now that I have chosen to write linearly)
- What is your particular struggle with writing? Why does that particular one affect you more than the others? Do you have a strategy for dealing with it?
- More than any other aspect of creative endeavour, I have struggled with the uncertainty: what is good enough? when is it finished? how will it be received? will it make me money? Particularly fraught for me is the balance between caution and commitment. I want to be sensible and have a back-up plan, but I also want to feel like I have been dedicated enough to justify my decision.
- Doing the journal entry as well as writing today was very time-consuming. Yes, I know I’ve said this before. But the days with extra exercises on top of the 1,000 words do not fit in an hourly-ish session. Something like a journal entry takes time to do properly and also saps energy. But it’s still useful work. I think a good medium would be to either increase the length of the programme, or decrease the size of the draft, so that these journal reflection days can be done in between draft progress.
all course content copyright Jacqui Lofthouse thewritingcoach.co.uk