BALI FIJI BURMA MOROCCO LAOS VIETNAM
When writing becomes a chore and it all seems too difficult, how do you get the bounce back into your creative process? We all know the feeling – you are two thirds into your draft and you hate the sound of your own words, you’re sick to death of your main characters, you’ve lost your way, lost the plot and made a decision to definitely go back to your day job!
It happened to me recently and luckily I was able to trick myself back into the writing, via a different portal. There I was, emailing my mentor, the wonderful Claire Scobie (yes, writing teachers need mentors too!) telling her it was all too hard and maybe instead of writing the book, I’d just do it as a blog. By the time I pressed’ send’ I was already writing my first blog post, adding pics and quotes and deciding that maybe I could just write pieces around the book; the journey, the process, muse over the content, key themes etc.
Now these are things I usually do in my scrap book, but the advantage of a blog is you have the satisfaction of instant publishing, of finishing something in a day – seeing how it looks in print with pics and graphics and layout. If you want, you can put it on public view or a select view – either way you have the sense you are writing for an audience, not just for your doubting self, and this fact alone brings a punch and bounce back into your writing.
Each blog post becomes a chapter that can be presented in or out of order, then rewritten, reworked and rearranged at a later date. Daily or weekly the blog provides a place where you can take the pressure off, where you can stop writing the book you think you should and enjoy the play of creative exploration. Then sit back and watch the energy bounce right back into your work. And why shouldn’t it – it is spring after all – well in this part of the world anyway.
In Oct I will be getting my bounce back as a guest of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival appearing in the following panels and events:
Archipelagogo. 13/10/13
Jan Cornall presents a cabaret of poems, songs & stories (from her new book of the same name) penned during her travels around Indonesia over the past decade. At Bar Luna.
Jalan Jalan:14/10/13
Come Jalan Jalan with some of the Festival’s adventurous storytellers & intrepid travellers. Jalan Jalan means ‘to wander’ in Indonesian & this event is now an annual UWRF tradition. Join Claire Scobie, Jan Cornall & Jon Doust as they take you through the heart of Ubud, & then on a gentle stroll through the rice paddies as you head to the gorgeous Sari Organik. Over a delicious organic brunch & while looking out over Ubud’s stunning rice terraces you’ll hear stories from both near & far.
Writing On The Road 14/10/13
Backpack (suitcase), notebook, laptop, mobile, camera, research, desire, courage… Hear from these travel writers about their experience writing from the road — is it always so easy to find an original angle & what lengths do you go to to find the story? With Laura Jean Mackay, Claire Scobie, Tom Doig, Jan Cornall.
Check out the rest of the Ubud Writers Festival Program here.
WRITERS JOURNEY ADVENTURES – BOOKING NOW!
Oct 7-16: Backstage Bali (inc 5 days at Ubud Writers Festival). BOOKED OUT!
Jan 9-22, 2014: Moroccan Caravan. Fez, Tissardmine, Erg Chebbi, Marrakech – a 12 day desert journey.
Feb 11-23, 2014, Temple Writing In Burma – inc. Irrawaddy Literary Festival.
March 8-15, 2014. Breakthrough Writing in Fiji – Eat, Snorkle, Write, in Fiji’s hidden paradise.
Aug 15-31, 2014, Indochine Journey, Vietnam – following the footsteps of Marguerite Duras.
