July 27, 2007
Seasons Change
Now out of school, with my wide-open days full of writing and reading behind me, I’ve found I need something different. Whereas last year it was important for me to work alone, listen to myself (and to my advisor), and dance to my own tune, now that writing is quite officially something I do “on the side”, I crave connection. Sitting at my desk at the end of a long day, putting in a few hours of writing whilst I’m conscious enough, ignoring my husband– it all feels terribly lonely in a way it never did at high noon, bathed in the sunshine of my self-importance. And so I am very lucky that my creative writing group from school is willing to have me back among them. As soon as I knew they would, my whole self was flooded with relief, and contentment. The group is a on some sort of hiatus this summer, but sessions continue informally. This eve I met with Rebecca for two hours of discussion, paragraphs read aloud, and silent typing across the the table. It was absolutely inspiring, and we both came away feeling we’d been quite productive. More than anything, too, I was fascinated by writing in a different place. For the past two years, I’ve been writing in the same little corner, and how fabulous it was to sit somewhere different, in a hot and crowded cafe, and all the different stimuli. Which opened up my story in ways I hadn’t considered, somehow, and it was almost as though I were a different pair of eyes looking at it. Now I don’t think writing on location will always be for me– I am way too much of a hermit– but semi-regularly will be a most interesting exercise. I look forward to finding what future Thursdays have in store.
