Join my Creative Hour today (note earlier time!)

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A quick note

For a few years in my late teens and early twenties, I did a lot of drawing and painting. I found it very therapeutic to get lost in the process – it’s a wonderful flow activity (here’s something I wrote about flow earlier this year).

My memories of when exactly I stopped are hazy, but I do remember that I took a summer course at the Edinburgh College of Art when I was 22, and that it dented my confidence. I hadn’t felt any pressure to be ‘good’ as an artist before that – I thought it was OK just to experiment and enjoy it. Something to do with the way that course was taught, though, made me suddenly feel that I wasn’t doing it right and wasn’t talented enough. It took the pleasure out of my hobby, and after that, I lost the habit.

Earlier this summer – 18 years later – I visited my friend, the illustrator and writer Jion Sheibani. Jion has exactly the playful, encouraging attitude to creativity that works for me, and a few days of her company, and being surrounded by her wonderful artwork, made me really crave making something myself again.

Since I got home I’ve started doing some drawings, with pencil and oil pastel, and it’s not that they’re particularly good, but the process makes me feel so good. The way I draw is more instinctive and less cerebral than the way I write; the stakes are much lower, because I’m not aspiring to be a professional; and it’s a relief to make something that doesn’t involve staring at a screen.

All this to say: creativity is so uplifting, and I think it’s good to mix up our disciplines. If you’ve hit a brick wall with a novel or a story, an hour of sketching might help you to return with a different perspective. So if you ever want to come to an In Writing Creative Hour and do something that isn’t writing, whether it’s drawing or collaging or embroidering – you’re always very welcome. (I’m still going to use it to write, today and as a general rule, but I might just bust out the oil pastels one week if I’m feeling stuck.)

Getting to the point

Speaking of Creative Hours, I’ll be hosting one on Google Meet today (20 August) from 10am UK time. There’s a timezone converter here for those who aren’t on UK time – just put your own location into the second section.

(Please note: I’m likely to go back to a later slot next time, but sometimes life gets in the way, hence the unusual morning slot this time.)

If you haven’t attended a Creative Hour before, it’s a get-together for paying subscribers online. We say hello and have a brief chat, then write together in companionable silence for fifty minutes. It’s a small act of writerly solidarity, an opportunity to get to know other writers, and a lovely way to end the week.

What I really love is putting faces to the names of those who subscribe to In Writing, and chatting about the projects you’re working on – do tell me what that is (you can keep it vague if it’s at a top-secret stage).

If you’re planning to join us, let me know in the comments below, if you like.

The schedule:

10am GMT (that’s UK time): Click the link below to open Google Meet.

I’d love you to switch your camera on for the first few minutes while we settle in, and keep it on throughout the hour if you can bear it (it adds to the feeling that we’re all working side by side). As for microphones, we’ll follow a general rule of staying on mute, but unmuting when we want to speak. Please chime in during the chats at the beginning and end – I’d love to hear from you.

10.05-ish: Writing time. If you’re running late, you’re welcome to slip in whenever, but don’t be offended if we don’t say hello. As for what to write – it’s totally up to you. Pick up a project that you’ve been neglecting, start something new, or if you’re stuck for inspiration, do some journalling or write a letter.

10.55-ish: We’ll return to wrap up the hour and reflect on how it went.

11am: Say goodbye, and feel pleased with yourself for the rest of the day.

The link: