Creative Ups & Downs (& Circular Shapes)
Fixion Lessons From March
Ahoy, fiction-seekers. Time for another dose of Fixion Lessons — in which I try to figure out what the changeable month of March has taught me about writing and creativity.
In all honesty, it’s been a bit like one of those ancient wooden rollercoasters you get at the end of rickety piers in run-down, salt-crusted seaside towns: some ups, some downs, a whole lot of boneshaking, and a healthy scepticism that you’re even going to make it to the end… But then, before you know it, you’re screeching your way back round to the beginning to disembark on shaky legs, ready to go again.
It’s been a month, ok? And when I came to put my notes for this post together, they were a whole mishmash of ups and downs and round-abouty weird goings on.
One of the the main things I’ve found after writing these Fixion Lessons for the past year is the fact that my writing routine constantly has to adapt, adjust, or simply cling on for life. And that creativity never occurs in a vacuum. There’s always other ‘stuff’ going on — both good and bad — and ‘the process’ doesn’t give a monkey’s fart for all those best laid plans and ‘productive’ intentions.
Art finds its own way and sometimes we just have to roll with it.
So that’s the vibe we’re going with. And here’s what I’ve learned:
WRITING
The ups!
Despite the chaos of this month, I’ve actually done an inordinate amount of writing — just not the way I usually go about it. (And in an equally chaotic way.)
On a spontaneous whim, I signed up to SmokeLong Quarterly’s March Micro Marathon, which is pretty much exactly how it sounds: 24 days of flash fiction prompts, exercises, and sharing your work in small groups.
It’s been intense, inspiring, and I’ve come out the other side with more than 24 new drafts, which feels kinda insane. (Aaaaand now I have to edit them all.)
And although I generally oppose the idea of having to write every day, sometimes short bursts of accountability like this can be pretty effective. I certainly couldn’t keep up this pace for much longer, but I do love the SmokeLong crew, and it’s been nice to take part in something as a punter rather than a facilitator for once!
(P.S. SmokeLong Fitness is also a great option if you like the sound of all of this.)
The downs?
Ok, this isn’t really a negative, but I was amused to notice that while I was doing the SmokeLong marathon, my brain started absolutely screaming to work on my other projects instead.
Because I was focusing all my available writing time on the flash fiction prompts (and swapping feedback with the other writers in my group), my regular WIPs got serious FOMO, and now I’m itching to get back to them.
Which is kinda the opposite of a downer, although it does make me wonder how much I could immerse myself in all the things I wanna do if I had more creative time in general…
And what’s the lesson here, Jo?
A little writing discipline, within limits, can be useful
Make your WIPs jealous whenever you can
The reward for writing should be more writing
Burn capitalism to the ground so we can all make more art
READING
A confession
Uhhh, so back in January I made myself a promise that I wouldn’t buy any new books until I’d read all the unread and half-finished ones already in my house/TBR pile.
Do you want to guess at how that’s going?
Ok, look, I think I only technically bought one. And that was a research book. For writing. I also might have cashed in a few Audible credits before cancelling my account because fuck Amazon (try Libro instead!). But that was an act of rebellion. And then I might have reactivated my Borrowbox and Libby accounts which were shamefully lying dormant, but technically using the library doesn’t count because it’s not technically buying books, right? Right?
The ups!
I mean, I’m reading! Although in truly predictable style I haven’t made any progress on the books I initially picked out in this post. Instead I’m re-re-reading Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield because it’s great, but somehow one of those books that I keep abandoning part-way through.
Part of this ‘exercise’ was to try to figure out why I wasn’t finishing things1, and I think in this case it’s because it’s just so intense and immersive. I’ll read a chapter or two (the bath is the perfect/worst place for this particular story) and then need to have a moment of “oof” or take a break. Aaaand then it’ll inevitably slide down my TBR list, and by the time I get back to it I need to skip back a chapter or two to refresh my brain…
But hey, we’re back on track for about the fourth time, and having an eerie, watery old time.
And what’s the lesson here, Jo?
Resolutions are bullshit (we already knew this)
Use your local library
Read whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want
Just read
OTHER CREATIVE STUFF
The ups!
I got a little theatre fix this month and went to see an amazingly condensed four-person Macbeth in a tiny (freezing) 13th church with original medieval frescoes on the walls.
I also went to see a friend in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf which is one of my favourite unhinged pieces of theatre and I highly recommend getting the script and reading it aloud to yourself for a hilariously ridiculous time.
I also (also) have a bunch of talented friends preparing shows for the Brighton Fringe Festival in May, which is one of my favourite things about living here and the best way to spend my birthday month!
Theatrical First World Problems
I’m helping out with another fringe show in a very minor backstage sense, but as with my writing, there’s a severe lack of free time going on at the moment, which is fostering a whole lot of FOMO and frustration and creative angst.
I’ve always dreamed of being able to just take the whole of May off to spend every day at a different fringe event (or fully commit to putting on a show myself!), but this year is unfortunately not the year…
And what’s the lesson here, Jo?
Time is a bastard
But there are always exciting, inspiring, creative things going on
Once again: burn capitalism to the ground so we can all make more art
And/or get rich enough to swan around consuming all the art you like
Whichever comes first, I guess
REAL WORLD RIDICULOUSNESS
The ups :)
This time last month I was, admittedly, a grumpy little potato, after being pretty consistently ill for three months straight. I’m (tentatively) glad to say I’m feeling quite a bit better. Spring sunshine helps significantly. As does getting back to some of my favourite things that I’ve been desperately missing: dancing, drumming, writing.
Also, for purely frivolous and joyful purposes, I dyed my hair pink and got myself some actual rose-tinted glasses and lemme tell ya — the world looks a whole lot better through them…
The... weirdly violating? :(
In case you missed it, The Atlantic released a database of pirated literary works used to train Meta’s AI — and, like a disturbingly vast amount of authors, my novel, White Lies, was included in this list.
I know I’m only small fry, and I know that most of my work is ‘available’ (albeit under copyright!) to read on the internet, but knowing that it has been specifically analysed for the sole purpose of plagiarism feels pretty gross.
I don’t actually have huge concerns that AI is ever going to produce anything remotely readable, but the fact that corporations can simply disregard copyright law because it proves ‘inconvenient’ to their machinations is deeply worrying.
I hope the scale of this theft also sparks some sort of backlash — or, y’know, actual legal repercussions/protections for writers and artists.
Here are a few things you can do if you are equally concerned:
(Oh, and someone actually said to my face, “You should be flattered they included your book!” so I think I deserve some kind of cake for not flipping the entire table.)
And what’s the lesson here?
Umm, be colourful?
Do stuff you love
Try to be at peace with the fact you can’t do a whole lot to counteract the megalomaniac stupidity of billionaires, but hope that one day their inhumanity will eventually consume them?
That’ll have to do for now.
What Fixion Lessons did you learn in March?
FUTURE STUFF!
Real life technological dystopias aside, here are a few more good things to look forward to in the next few months:
Take It From Shakespeare — a four-part writing course at The Forever Workshop — starts 7 April!
Borrow linguistic and literary techniques from Shakespeare to push boundaries, experiment with form, and play with rhythm, repetition and rhetoric.
No Shakespeare knowledge required — just a love for words, words, words.
I’ve also got a bunch of other writing workshops lined up for May and June, including:
How to Make Your Submission Stand Out — 24 May @ Chill Subs (more info soon!)
Write What You Know: Characterisation — 28 May (1hr Zoom workshop)
The Story in a Song — starts 2 June (4-part workshop series at The Joy of Fixion)
And if you’re in need of some editorial feedback or one-to-one creative development support, I have spaces in April for both!
Thanks for reading.
I hope March has brought you some useful Fixion Lessons, too.
And hope to write with you soon.
: )
The other reason is ADHD but I’m trying to be analytical here