Where would you go on an Artist Date?

Photo by me. An unknown Creative Self?

As a writer, it’s always good to have something or somewhere to write about. And even if you haven’t, it’s helpful to think creatively about something or somewhere. 
Several years ago I was gifted a beautiful book, ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron.
I just love books … a girl can never have too many books … or chocolate, although books are definitely less fattening!

The Artist’s Way was recommended to encourage more writing and to help develop my creative self. If truth were told, I had never really considered part of me as ‘creative self’. I liked the idea of more writing. I was intrigued by the term and wondered what on earth would unfold with my new found creative part!

The book suggested writing several pages of journal every morning, at least three pages about whatever comes. Sometimes, I know it can be a challenge to do that. What will I write about today? I can’t think, brain dumb, inspiration won’t come. The Artist’s Way assists and encourages the creative write. It also encourages the concept of ‘Artist Dates’. Now, readers, before you go scurrying off and regress into the realms of, ‘Oh I haven’t written or drawn anything since my school days’, I request you to stop right there. Don’t panic. The way it works is like this – Set aside one morning, afternoon or day to make time for YOU and only you to experience something to develop your creative thinking. Examples may include walking in nature; going to the theatre, seeing a film, visiting an art gallery, checking out somewhere you’ve never been before. Ideally doing something or experiencing something different or for the first time. The brave step is doing it on your own!

This week, my Artist Date prompted me to attend a local Arts Centre to participate in a new initiative called ‘Talking Tables’. The idea behind the initiative;

1. To encourage people to watch new films 
2. To invite people to stay and review the film

Welcoming and friendly staff at the Talking Tables facilitated the discussion and noted our feedback about the event. There were some great discussions about the film ‘Bait’, set in Cornwall, the fishing industry and its community and how life there had changed over the years. I highly recommend seeing it…perhaps an Artist Date for you?

As a result of this particular date, I came away with lots of new ideas about writing and creativity. The subject matter provided abundant food for thought about life, changes in communities and the impact of such changes particularly in small coastal communities.

The Talking Tables provided a platform to listen to different viewpoints. In turn, the discussions generated further film recommendations and suggestions about other Arts venues worth a visit.

On this occasion, my solo trip provided opportunity, to see a new film, review it through my artistic lens, meet some lovely people and give me something to blog about this week! I wonder how my next Artist Date will unfold?

What does it take to be a published author?

Photo: Nicola May by Dominic Martin

My Monday evenings are dedicated to Slough Writers. It’s a local group that encourages, supports and inspires writers of all genres. Their eclectic programme of events offers many writing opportunities. Last week, we invited Nicola May, a local author, to share her writing journey with us.

After many years of diligent writing, resilience and perseverance, Nicola is now an established author, fulfilling a long held dream, to become a published author. We had many questions about how she achieved this. She explained how the writing started when she tasked herself (a few years back) to run a half marathon. She kept a diary to chart and track her progress. She confessed that at the time she hadn’t considered the diary would start her writing career, but it did! She enjoyed writing. It was her ‘first and only half marathon’ (completed in a reasonable time of just over 2 hours). What an achievement! I was impressed.

I was also impressed as she took us on her writing journey about who and what inspired her writing. She talked about her characters, the situations they found themselves in and how events unfolded, sometimes good and sometimes bad.

I had a real sense that Nicola’s heart was shared with many characters in her books. She spoke passionately about how she wrote and what she wrote. Nicola shared her writing experience and tips generously and with great honesty. Being an author was not only about writing, it was about marketing, promoting and networking too! She declared, ‘Writing the book was the easy part’.

So what did I learn from Nicola’s visit to our Writers’ Group?

1. The process of writing a book is much more than crafting the words to tell the story.
2. Getting a book published is not for the faint-hearted - persistence, resistance and resilience are needed in bucket loads!
3. Marketing, publishing and promotion opportunities are key on the road to success, especially for the new and unknown author.

Nicola admitted that her journey from writer to published author wasn’t without its challenges but in spite of never having attended a writing class – she made it!

In my opinion, Nicola is woman of substance, determined, persistent and a great role model for aspiring writers. My thanks to Nicola for an inspiring evening. I wish her every success for the future and in my book (yet to be published), she deserves it!