Why I think my best writing has nothing to do with me at all

Posted on 17/08/2012 by inktuition

I kind of hate to say this, but I think my best writing comes from another place totally beyond my control, my life, my consciousness. I’m talking about the kind of writing I read back the next day and think ‘where the **** did that come from?!’ (in a good way, I mean).

My flashes of inspiration come from a dark cave of pedestrian writing. (pic: istockphoto.com/rozbyshaka)

I know I have flashes of brilliance in my creative writing: times when I’m in awe of the written word to convey a feeling, a moment, a heartbeat. But those flashes are little chinks of light in what can sometimes feel like a dark cave of inane drivel and self-obsessed tosh.

Getting out of the way

I’ve realised that my best writing comes when I Continue reading →

Why I’ll always be Queen of the Last Minute

Posted on 13/08/2012 by inktuition

Without the last minute, so the old saying goes, nothing would ever get done. Give me extreme pressure, less time than I actually need, and I’ll whip that deadline into shape. And produce something brilliant. Leave the ending open and the task will hang around tormenting me. And anything I do attempt to produce will be flabby or fall flat (in my mind, anyway).

Who can resist the urge to beat the race against time…? (istockphoto.com/Watcha)

Except I thought I was better than that: I’m a consummate planner, with a social diary that is meticulous and varied, and a work diary that is packed and tightly managed. So why is it that a task comes along that I don’t want to do, and the not-doing the task drains more energy than actually doing the task would.

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task,” says William James.

Quite.

Here’s another great quote about procrastination: “If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.” Olin Miller

There’s been a mighty hard job hanging around my shoulders over the last three weeks. Not hard in terms of Continue reading →

Tell the truth if you want to feel good about yourself

Posted on 11/08/2012 by inktuition

Telling porky pies is bad for your mental health and can make you feel miserable about yourself. Start telling the truth – and that means no little white lies, either – and your mind, body and spirit will thank you for it.

Taking off the mask and telling fewer lies boosts wellbeing. (pic: istockphoto.com/chuvipro)

The ‘Science of Honesty’ study carried out by researchers from Notre Dame University found that telling lies had more negative health effects on people and their relationships. In a 10-week study, participants who were told to tell fewer lies found they had fewer mental health issues, such as tension or melancholy, and fewer physical complaints such as sore throats and headaches. They also reported that their personal relationships and social interactions had improved.

“Recent evidence indicates that Americans average about 11 lies per week. We wanted to find out if living more honestly can actually cause better health,” said lead author Anita E. Kelly, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame. “We found that the participants could purposefully and dramatically reduce their everyday lies, and that in turn was associated with significantly improved health.”

I think these findings show the psychological pressure Continue reading →

when it’s time to let go

Posted on 11/03/2012 by inktuition

Thirteen years ago right now I was whizzing to the hospital to see my dad who had just died. We’d only just him and been home a few minutes when we got the call.

It’s one of those moments that will always stick in my mind, for obvious reasons.

Question is, for how much longer will I stay stuck in that moment? Every year it gets worse, not better.

Why am I holding on? And why can’t I let go?

I want him to rest in peace. And I want to live in peace.

On Leap Year Day, surely there’s no excuse for not making that writing leap?

Posted on 29/02/2012 by inktuition

Leap Year Day feels special. Obviously, because it comes around once every four years. But less obviously, because I’ve decided to make THAT leap with my writing and do something brave.

Will making that leap leave me gasping for air – or feeling exhilarated? (pic credit: istockphoto.com/mikdam)

I guess what’s brave for one could be rather safe and ordinary for another. But I was inspired and encouraged by the comments my post ‘why can’t I come out of my writing shell?‘ prompted – especially from the wonderful Fiercely Yours – that I am going to take the plunge and leave my nagging inner critic trailing in the wake of my new-found, authentically driven creativity.

Instead of strangling every thought, every Continue reading →

why feeling iSad brings up all my other losses too

Posted on 06/10/2011 by inktuition

I’ve never understood widespread mourning for a public figure. Famous people die, and I think it’s sad, but I’ve never felt the loss before of someone I’ve never met, yet who has touched, inspired and enhanced my life in the way that Steve Jobs has.

I may change my skirt length, accent colour, heel shape, belt width or lipstick shade to suit the season, but there’s one thing I’ll never change, and that’s my Mac. I may have put up with a PC when I’ve had to, but its clunkiness, slowness and downright unsexiness has me sprinting back (yes, even in my high heels) to my thing of beauty: my Mac.

I secured my first job as a journalist on one of those square, tiny-screened Macs, which somehow made writing an article as an intern feel so Continue reading →

the healing power of a grief journal

Posted on 14/08/2011 by inktuition

Tears streamed down my face when I read about a woman who had lost her only child chart her journey through journaling. This post is really worth reading on Life Goes Strong, entitled Writing for Life: How Journal Writing Helps Heal One Mother’s Grief.

Writing really was therapy in this case, for Tamara Thomas, and the process took her through the stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining and acceptance – and the tasks of mourning: to accept the reality of loss; to work through the feelings about that loss; to learn to live without the person you’ve lost; and to Continue reading →

a poem after the london riots

Posted on 10/08/2011 by inktuition

The lasting legacy of ludicrous riots:

what will that mean for me?

Not the mobs in their looted trainers,

or the YouTube vigilantes;

not the columns condemning violence

or the angry-eyed document’ries.

Maybe the broom-wielding Wombles

or the Continue reading →

reflections on loss and regret at the end of a holiday

Posted on 05/08/2011 by inktuition

The end of a holiday evokes feelings of loss. (pic credit: Streetek)

Coming to the end of my holiday and, like any ending, it brings up feelings of loss, wistfulness; of wishing, perhaps, that I’d appreciated my time more: lived it more, felt it more, maybe. Perhaps I could have absorbed the beautiful countryside more enthusiastically, visited the sights more engagingly, and appreciated the reassuring sway and swagger of the boat more wholeheartedly.

Because this time won’t come again – and I’m not sure when I will have Continue reading →

why I need a room of my own on a boat on the Broads

Posted on 01/08/2011 by inktuition

I know I don’t appreciate things until I don’t have them any more – that’s human nature. But boy have I missed a room of my own since embarking on a boat trip on the Norfolk Broads.

Boating on the Broads

Before departing, I had imagined a serene journey along the river network of Norfolk, gliding past wildlife and other friendly ‘sailors’ with their jaunty hats and jovial waves, and plenty of time and space to think and write.

I was right about the first two, but wrong about the second. Not used to ‘camping’ or managing without wi-fi broadband, hot running water, and the ability to Continue reading →

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writing my life and soul

Category Archives: authentic self