Taking a break: a resolution for writing for 2021

 

There goes the first week of January 2021. Back when life was normal (as in, this time last year) the first week of January for me would be a time for tackling writing projects with the renewed vigour born of a rest over Christmas and perhaps one or two resolutions. My writing resolutions normally involved things like: I will unfailingly set aside two evenings and one afternoon each week to dedicate to writing fiction or poetry or whatever I'm inspired to write. Or: I will complete project X this year and start on project Y. Or something similar. More often than not, by February I would have forgotten these or been distracted by a new project or a fresh idea.

This year, no resolutions for writing. Blame the pandemic, blame my age, blame my hormones, blame my steadily depleting bank account. Heck, blame Brexit and the riot in Washington last week. But I know the reality is that that I need to take some time to stop. A pause in which to reflect on last year, on this year, on today and on tomorrow. 

I am one of those writers who has not been remotely creative in lockdown. I did put together an e-book of short stories at Christmas to raise money for charity, but they were mainly written some time ago. Unashamed promotion, so here's the link:

All They Want for Christmas by Jackie Anderson

But other than this and 'work' writing, there was nothing. Not a squeak of nib on paper that left other than a meaningless scrawl.

There's something grim and insidious, nasty, to tell the truth, about this odd pressure to be creative, to do something worthwhile with this extra time that we apparently all have. Well, try telling a nurse doing double shifts at the CCU, that he's got more time. Or a police officer, or a firefighter, or a road sweeper or a rubbish collector or the supermarket shelf-stacker. And yet the TV and radio and social media are blurting away ideas and examples of all the creative things people are doing in lockdown, which have a tendency to make you feel a bit inadequate if you simply can't get anything remotely meaningful to hang together into a paragraph let alone complete a poem or story.

So this post is being written to declare, loud and proud that actually, getting through a pandemic like this is tough and if you haven't got the energy left for your creative project or learning a new skill, that's ok. If you're getting through each day, then that's enough. Thank you Joe Wicks, the exercises are great for some, and thank you for those musicians and actors laying on online performances, and thank you those writers who pump out prose and poetry brilliantly and publish work precisely because they have to stay at home. I mean it. The creatives have kept most of us ticking over reasonably well. We have had entertainment, and we have learned new things.

But, if like me, your work (real work that puts bread and butter on the kitchen table) did not slow down, just shifted location, or you stepped up a gear caring for locked down family members, or you were simply too anxious to concentrate, you are not alone. And if your feelings about the pandemic - fears, anxiety, impatience, even incredulity - left your pen dry, you are definitely not alone. I have been dry as a bone since the start of last year, and I was greatly relieved to surf the net and found many writers saying similar.

So in 2021, I plan to read my way out of pandemic-induced writer's block. I will read for pleasure, mainly, not for instruction or to broaden my mind. I have no intention of straining my brain, just to rest it and enlighten it. I will enjoy the delights created by talented others. I will finally spend time listening to music that I kept meaning to listen to but never tried. I will listen to podcasts and possible audiobooks. I will explore the theatre online and visit online museums and places I am never likely to visit even when lockdown lifts and travel is permitted once again. I'll watch classic movies and binge watch Netflix. I might do some yoga stretches, maybe, if I can find the energy. But I certainly won't allow myself to feel guilty if I don't. There'll be enough negativity to deal with while vaccines are rolled out and start to work and hopefully the relentless gloom starts to lift. 

If I write, it will be because I have to write for work (somehow I never class my feature writing as writing, probably because I want to be a fiction writer), or I write some journal entries, or letters to family and friends, or because finally the creative spark has been relit. I might well add posts to this blog, just to keep the fingers remembering how to type.

I do know that some Gibraltar Writers are busy working on a number of projects, and some plan to start new writing projects this year. Others are less sure of their plans but plan to write more. Which pleases me hugely, and hopefully they will provide lots of reading material: one of the things I want to do this year, is read as much Gibraltar writing as I get time to read. I hope we can get the library open soon! 

What will you be writing in 2021?

Locked down and blocked up

Writer's Block during lockdown

While social media is bubbling with samples of creativity and productivity during lockdown, many other creatives are wondering why they feel 'blocked'. Periods of solitude are often essential for focus, for losing yourself in your creative zone and coming up with your own personal masterpiece, in whatever medium you happen to prefer. Theoretically, having to stay off work and stay home for a prolonged period should give many of us the time and space we have been craving for. Writer's block is a well-documented phenomenon - whether you agree it exists or is just a temporary frame of mind - but perhaps it feels a bit bizarre that it should happen now, when we all seem to have more time and space to be the writers we want to be.

Puzzled as to why I personally was struggling with my own lack of wit or energy to apply to my own writing, I called a couple of friends to see how they were getting on. Here's what they told me:

June

June is in her late middle age and a semi-retired business consultant with a small portfolio of loyal clients that keep her linked to her profession while giving her the time to also write professionally. She is an author of school text books, and her enthusiasm for quality writing being key to communicating information effectively knows no bounds despite the dryness of some of the subject matter (maths, stats and economics).

Me: June, how's it going? How are you finding lockdown is affecting your writing?

June: Hello, dear, nice to hear from you. All well at my end, and busy, busy busy.

Me: So much for people have loads of time to be creative! Are you managing to write?

June: Of course I am. In fact, I'm making great progress with my latest project, and I'm planning out another. And I'm thinking of co-writing a book on the economic impact of the pandemic and the future of small businesses.

Me: I'm impressed, but how do you manage to keep motivated.

June: Good planning and good organisation. You know I like my routine, so  haven't changed it at all except allow more time to go to the supermarket and queue, and then take the shopping round to my neighbour who is in her seventies and can't go herself. I get up at the same time, go to the garden and do my Tai Chi (Note - June used to go to the local park with friends to do this but lockdown rules means she follows the routine at home instead). Then I do any client work that needs to be done - I've just started using Zoom, it's marvellous! - by which time its usually a stop for lunch. Then a call around the kids to make sure they're ok, a bit of housework and by three pm I'm back on the computer and writing. In fact, I'd say the routine works really well, because I'm writing better and faster than before. Perhaps it's a sense of being determined to get the project finished before the bloody virus gets me!

Me: Doesn't Neville (June's other half) interrupt you?

June: He's too busy painting the back room. We're hoping that when all this is over that Julian (youngest son) will come and live here. He's not at all happy alone so far away since he and Imogen split up.

Me: I guess the peace and quiet is helping you stay inspired and creative. No writer's block then.

June (laughs): Oh well, you know I think writer's block is a myth. You might think you've got no inspiration, but inspiration itself is a myth. The best inspiration is an unmovable deadline and the vision of the invoice you're going to send your client or the cheque your publisher has promised you. All you have to do is knuckle down and put words on paper. Once you start forcing the pen, the brain follows, grudging or otherwise. And I don't listen to the news until suppertime when I'm done writing for the day. By the next morning, the bleakness of what is happening has thinned somewhat!

Shefali

Shefali is in her thirties, single and a vet working in a small animal clinic. She has continued working during the pandemic, because pets continue to get sick and need treatment, coronavirus or not, although the clinic is providing emergency treatment only and she is working from home several days a week. Shefali is always inspired by the animals she encounters daily and by their owners, and enjoys writing stories for children.

Me: Hiya Shefali, how are things with you?

Shefali: All good, thank you,  pretty busy as usual. I'm working from home quite a bit, doing call outs as and when I have to but generally managing to give advice to owners over the phone and offer prescriptions etc. I've been going into the clinic either mornings or evenings and keeping the admin under control. It is a lot quieter than usual though. It's a bit weird, to be honest.

Me: Are you still managing to write?

Shefali: Well, funny you should ask but I'm really struggling. I started a new story at the beginning of the year; remember I said that I was going to try my hand at YA fiction? But I just can't settle down to write. 

Me: Why do you think that is?

Shefali: I don't know at all. I do have a bit more time on my hands, and you see on Facebook and on TV all these people learning new skills and performing music, and all I can do is lounge about in my PJs eating chocolate! Seriously, when this is over I'm going to have to get back to horse riding and work it all off! But as for the writing, I don't know. When I'm at work, I am focused, caring, I know exactly what I'm doing, but I find that in my spare time I feel tired, I don't want to think much and when I try to think about the story, or characters, or plot, I feel confused, a bit lost really.

Me: Writer's block then?

Shefali: I guess it is. Or maybe just a way for my anxiety to manifest. I feel perfectly fine most of the time, but I am finding it hard to be away from family. I speak to them every day on Skype and WhatsApp - in fact, I've spoken more to my aunties in India in these past few weeks than I had in months - but when I try to work out what I want to do in my free time, I'm at a loss. So, other than jotting down some research notes for the story, I have not got very far. But I am reading.

Me: Does reading help?

Shefali: Reading is so relaxing. I'm hoping it will eventually unlock my creativity again, and get me writing. I've just started Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall". I got the whole trilogy now that "The Mirror and the Light" is out so I'm giving it a go during lockdown. And I've set myself a target to have all the character summaries for my story completed by next weekend. Perhaps if I get all that going, I will get my mojo back! (And I hope she does because her stories are great!).

Colin

Colin writes poetry. He's a teacher in a comprehensive school and has been working incredibly long hours helping his students through this difficult time of uncertainty.

Me: Colin, how are you and the family?

Colin: Hey, good to hear from you. We're all well, and the kids have taken to lockdown surprisingly well, which Maggie is delighted about because I am working mainly from home and we were worried that I would not be able to concentrate with all of us in the house together. But so far so good.

Me: I guess with delivering lessons online and assessments and grading the A-levels, you haven't had time to write?

Colin: You've got it in one. Well, I have drafted a couple of poems, but these are literally in pencil on the back of a scrap of paper I was doodling  on during a Zoom meeting with the heads of department (I probably shouldn't admit to that!).

Me: Interesting, so where did the inspiration come from for those poems? The pandemic?

Colin: Not really. Not about people getting sick or the heroism of medical and care workers. I was thinking about the disengaged kids, and that the risk of them falling away from engagement with society is so much higher  now. The kids whose home lives are not supportive of education, who have so many disadvantages to overcome anyway, and now this. Or the kids who are vulnerable and at risk, and of course, we're not really seeing them now so we can't help them if help is needed. That's what's keeping me awake at night far more than A level results, and that's what came out in the poems. But don't misunderstand me - they need a lot of polishing up before I can really call that gathering of words actual poems!

Me: But at least you have been creative...

Colin: At the end of the day,  it doesn't matter whether as a writer you can be productive during lockdown. What matters is that we get through it. And perhaps one day, we can refer back to this experience for inspiration in our poetry or whatever it is we write. No-one has to do anything during this time. We are all different and we are all trying to survive. 

Quite an interesting mix of thoughts. Perhaps writer's block is a figment of the imagination, an excuse for not knuckling down. Perhaps it is that we cannot always be creative when we are anxious, or overworked, or tired. Or perhaps we just need to relax and let our minds mull. Shakespeare might have written "King Lear" during his version of lockdown, but none of us is called upon to be Shakespeare and right now, being ourselves is perhaps the best we can be. So my lesson? If I can't concentrate on writing, go and do something else. Like Shefali, I'll get my mojo back eventually! And like Colin, a scrap of paper with a selection of words is a start. I'd love to be half as organised as June though!

Just Write It

What's your story during this difficult time? Image courtesy of Pixaby

Just Write it!

That's all you need to do. You're a writer with a story to tell, or words bursting to emerge and characters that are chattering in your mind clamouring to be let out. Or you might not have thought of yourself as a writer before but with a bit of time on your hands in this coronavirus pandemic lockdown situation we're in, you might want to give writing stories - or poems - a go. And if you do, I'm more than happy to share them on this blog!

So, if we have a bit more time on our hands for writing, let's just do it. Don't worry about whether you have a writing degree or an English GCSE. You don't need these - if you can speak, you can tell a story. It doesn't matter what you've every learned at school - there are online tools and perhaps friends who will help you with correcting your script. And if you get stuck with the writing down of it, then voice record it and see if a  helpful friend will type it up for you. Just get the story out there.

But where to start?

Here are some of the ways that I use to get a story going:

1. Who? The characters are really important. Who is the story about? What are they like? Where do they come from? What makes them individuals? What do they look like / sound like / smell like? What problems are they facing that your story is going to try to resolve? What adventures are they going to have? What are their strengths and what are their flaws? Understand your character and you've already gone a long way into getting your story going.
2. What? What is going to happen? Where does the story start? How are the different events sequenced so that they take you to the end? And what will happen in the end? It's quite useful to set out a list of events and then number them in the order they will take place. Or write each one out on a post-it note and stick to the wall and move them around until you are happy with the order of events. Whatever works for you.
3. Where? The locations for the events that take place in your story are really important. Places have a way of affecting people and influencing their actions. One of the joys of writing is that your stories can take you anywhere you like. Perhaps you want to write a story set in Gibraltar in the present, or about the Australian outback in the nineteenth century, or on the moon. But visualise the settings, and find ways to describe them so that the reader gets the sense that they are real - even if they're not.
4. When? Is your story set in the past or present or future? Is it going to happen over the course of a year, a lifetime or an hour? It's up to you - another joy of writing is the freedom you have to unleash your imagination. When your story takes place might affect how your character acts, or speaks or dresses.
5. Why? This is linked to your theme. What is your story really about? Is it about love, or joy, or grief, or death, or war or anger, or jealousy, or fear? Is it about bullying, or racism, or addiction, or depression, or disability, or courage, or hope, or struggle, or success....there are so  many themes. What is at the heart of your story?

And by the time you've spent a half hour or so jotting down your thoughts on the Who, What, Where, When and Why of your story, you're eager to get writing.

This is where we often brake to a screeching halt and find ourselves with no words that we feel are adequate for starting a story. So, what do we do about that?

The dreaded blank page of writer's block! Image courtesy of Pixabay

Just write. It doesn't matter that it doesn't sound great at first, once you get those first couple of sentences out of the way, the rest of the story will come. And once it's written, it can be revised and rewritten and you can write better starting sentences. You will work away at that story, changing this and improving that, until it's ready to read.

And when you think it is ready to read, read it out loud. To yourself, or the dog or your plants. If the words you have written sit comfortably in your  mouth, then they will be happily listened to or read by your audience. 

Read him your story to test it out! Image courtesy of Pixabay

And then you've got your story.

Simply Stories

At which point, I'd love to read it! I am going to post a story each day for a week in a series called "Simply Stories" which I hope my readers will enjoy and that I hope will trigger them into writing their own. And I will publish stories sent in to me by you as guest writers on this blog.

Please send in your stories - I'm looking forward to reading them.

Stuck in a writing rut?

Not so much stuck in a writing rut as just a bit plain stuck.  I can't complain, mind, there are few more perfect places than being stuck at the home you grew up in, surrounded by family and friends and occasionally benefiting from a cuppa made by your Mum in just the way you like it.

So I'm in Kent, UK for more than just the two weeks that I expected to be, and unlikely to be back home in Gibraltar before the end of August.  The pros, besides loving spending precious time with the family, are many:  I can't go to work so I am having to relax, something I find difficult to do; I can nose around old haunts and see how these have changed, or not, improved or worsened, all of which is quite fascinating; I can go to London which is only a train ride away and I simply love London; I can enjoy warm sunshine without having to hide from the intensity of August Mediterranean heat; I can take a walk on cool grass, breathe clean, country air within a short walk, lay flowers on my father's grave, visit my grandparents' grave and remember my youth.

St Mary Magdalene Church, Gillingham, Kent

The cons: I need to get back to work (no work, no money, although with the internet I have been able to complete some of my writing commissions and hope to Facetime or Skype some clients before they find other writers for their projects); I struggle to get into a routine, interruptions are numerous, distractions more so.  So when I do manage to sit at a computer or tablet, or get my notebook and pen out, I find the hours stroll by at a noncholant pace and I write nothing.  Not even something vague which might be shaped into something useful in the future.  Just plain nothing.

There's only one thing for it.  When I get stuck in as much of a writing rut as I am at the moment, the best thing I can do is walk it off.  Visit places, see people.  For the writer, embracing these distractions can sometimes pay off.  People are endlessly fascinating and even a brief glance at the people in the supermarket queue in front of you can spark an idea, or crop up in a short story in a few months' time.  Places are evocative of emotions, and emotions are what stories appeal to, strive for and evoke.  

Tonight I'm browsing through some of the snapshots I took on my phone of the places I've been to in these past few weeks.  Tomorrow I know that I will be writing.  I've walked, I've contemplated.  By tomorrow the ideas will be formulating and the words will start to flow.  A writing rut?  What's that?

On London Bridge

Rochester Castle, Kent