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How’s your writing week been? I always wish you a good one, but never check in on how it went.
I’m working on something new, and I’m in that initial phase where you feel excited and capable, and you itch to get back to it. I’d like to live in this phase full-time, but as Maggie O’Farrell explained when she came on the In Writing podcast, that would never work.
Maggie: There are certainly weeks where I feel, you know, ‘This is going OK, this is working’ – and there are other weeks where I think, ‘I need to get another job, this is a disaster, everybody’s going to laugh at me! It’s not working, I’ll never finish this book.’ But in a sense, you need both those states of mind to write a book – to write anything.
Hattie: That’s interesting. Why both?
Maggie: Well, I don’t know. For me, I think it takes the form of a wave pattern. You have this big upswing of optimism and excitement and inspiration, and you think ‘Yes, I love this idea – it’s going to say everything I need to say.’ And so you write lots and you get lots of words down, and then it’s always followed by this big crash of maybe a couple of days or a week, and you just think ‘It’s all awful, I’m absolutely useless, I’m never going to finish this, it doesn’t work, it’s all rubbish.’ But you need that. You need the creative upswings in order to get words down, and then you need the terrible crash, because that’s when you edit yourself. That’s when you look at your work and you think, ‘That doesn’t work, that doesn’t work, this structure doesn’t work, but actually there’s that one chapter that I think is close to what I need it to be.’ You have your creative optimism and then you have your slash-and-burn week, and then with any luck, you’ll have another upswing after that.
She was a wonderful and wise guest – listen to the whole thing here.
This is your final In Writing newsletter of the year and suddenly today, I feel I’m getting ill. It’s probably about time to stop working, go fallow, and trust that there will be new words in 2023.
Before I sign off, I want to say thank you so much for your support this year. I find it almost impossible to grasp that when I send a newsletter out, it arrives in thousands of inboxes. I’m really, pathetically grateful for your engagement, your kind and thought-provoking responses, and your solidarity as writers and readers.
There’ll be a new series of the In Writing podcast arriving soon – hopefully in January. If you’ve never listened before, now’s a good time to delve into the archive:
Those in the mix for the upcoming fifth series include novelists, a screenwriter, a cartoonist, a poet and a columnist. I think you’re going to like them.
I don’t know how to explain it, but after I record each episode, I feel the highest high of my life. Doing those interviews gives me such pure joy; I can only compare the sensation to the best bits of falling in love. Both experiences are about connection, I suppose. I feel that having these conversations is what I’m supposed to do. (I wish there was a way of saying that that sounded less ridiculous.)
Like falling in love, the process also has bits that are more stressful and less fun. There’s a lot of emailing and admin involved (I’m talking about the podcast now), which is part of the reason that it takes me bloody ages to produce a series. (It’s a one-woman operation. I am the person who sends increasingly tense ‘Just following up’ emails to publicists.) It’s all worth it in the end. I can’t wait to start releasing the new episodes and see what you think. I plan to share bonus stuff here in the newsletter as well.
Should we look back at what we’ve achieved in 2022? We’ve all carried on carrying on, which is impressive, particularly after a very grisly couple of years. As writers and readers, we’ve kept trying to make sense of things, kept trying to articulate them, kept trying to communicate. I was going to say words haven’t saved the world yet – but actually, it’s still here, isn’t it? We might be in a worse state without them.
Whatever you’re doing with the next couple of weeks, I hope you enjoy them. Write if you feel like it, but remember that taking an opportunity to do other things (if you have that opportunity) is equally valuable. Here are Julia Cameron’s wise words, from The Artist’s Way:
In order to create, we draw from our inner well. This inner well, an artistic reservoir, is ideally like a well-stocked trout pond. We’ve got big fish, little fish, fat fish, skinny fish – an abundance of artistic fish to fry. As artists, we must realize that we have to maintain this artistic ecosystem. If we don’t give some attention to upkeep, our well is apt to become depleted, stagnant, or blocked.
Any extended period or piece of work draws heavily on our artistic well. Overtapping the well, like overfishing the pond, leaves us with diminished resources. We fish in vain for the images we require. Our work dries up and we wonder why, “just when it was going so well.” The truth is that work can dry up because it is going so well.
As artists, we must learn to be self-nourishing. We must become alert enough to consciously replenish our creative resources as we draw on them – to restock the trout pond, so to speak. I call this process filling the well.
She goes on to say that you must fill your well – or your trout pond, let’s not get bogged down in the mixed metaphor – with magical, delightful, fun experiences. Over the next couple of weeks, here are some of the things I plan to fill mine with: Terry’s Chocolate Oranges; When Harry Met Sally; whatever my niece and nephew are interested in this Christmas; champagne; I Hate Suzie; sitting on my sister’s bed in my pyjamas; sitting on my mother’s bed in my pyjamas; reading (can’t tell you what, without revealing who the podcast guests are); roast potatoes; the occasional festive walk (not too far); that new ITV thing about Rebekah Vardy and Colleen Rooney; brandy, dry roasted peanuts. What’s going into your well?
Here’s to all of you and thanks again. See you, hopefully re-energised, in 2023.
Have a wonderful Christmas Hattie - and enjoy the rest. I am so excited about the new In Writing series - as I feel the same way as you about the episodes - I get a massive high/inspiration from them - and there are certain ones I go back to time and time again whenever I feel anxious or low about my writing. I know I've said it to you before, but it's worth repeating, that In Writing for me is intrinsically linked with the writing of my first novel (and with keeping me company in lockdown) and I will be forever grateful for the learning and encouragement I've got from it xx
Thank you for the wonderful newsletters! I can’t wait for the new podcast series. Have a peaceful winter break and a happy new year 💕