[GC Insider] Energy returns
In which I share the good, the bad and the ugly of my own creative journey this month
At last, after nearly three months of fatigue, my energy is returning. I’m not back to normal but I have a much bigger range of things I can do.
I’ve been to London several times this month, which is an hour on the train from where I live. I’ve been cleaning, after some building work, at the apartment I am selling. It is four-bedroom and stretches over three floors. Many a time, over the last twenty-five years that I have owned it, I have scrubbed the paintwork to make it appear brighter, often because I didn’t have the budget to re-paint.
As I’m now in the closing lap before it is sold, I wanted to scrub it again as a cathartic exercise following all the stress it has caused me (I’ll spare you the details of endless, expensive maintenance). Initially I was upset that I didn’t have the energy to do it as it is no small task. However, over a couple of visits, and with the help of my best friend, I managed it. This was incredibly satisfying and helped me get confidence that if I take things gently and accept help, I can make progress.
I’ve also been able to go into London for fun. I’ve been for a lunch at the Houses of Parliament, I went to see a talk by Marianne Williamson and last week we had a picnic-come-hen-night for one of my friends who is getting married in a couple of weeks. There’s nothing like the sight of a group of women in their 50s, tipsy from champagne, decked out in hen-night paraphernalia, cackling away and singing along to cheesy music!
It is so wonderful to be able to manage getting to and from the train, take a tube journey and then walk a few minutes the other end. It sounds so simple but two months ago I didn’t have the energy to embark on such undertakings.
Normally this GC Insider email is only for paid subscribers, but since I have gathered over 150 more subscribers since the fatigue descended in May, I thought I would send it out to everyone so that you can see what else is available in addition to the weekly Friday article (which goes out to all subscribers).
Writing-wise, having done only the bare minimum for the last three months, I am slowly starting to do more. I have decided to spend two hours a day at my computer and build from there. You can get a lot done in two hours if you’re focussed.
It was fantastic to have a two week break from sending out Gentle Creative emails and now I am getting back in the routine of producing a weekly article. I’ve written a couple of guest posts for another Substack publication called Fforest. They were based on some Gentle Creative articles I wrote in June. However the brief is to have just 250 words. This means you really have to cut to the essence of what you have to say which I have enjoyed. It is good to flex one’s writing muscles in different ways.
You can read them at the links below. Fforest is a fantastic publication. Every day, first thing in the morning, you get a short email with some lovely food for thought. Do check it out and subscribe if you like the sound of it.
Tree 433: A profound lesson I have learned from my fatigue
Tree 434: Advice from your future self
I was also invited to participate in a Twitter chat with fellow Substacker, Meta Wagner. It was good fun to pitch in with my thoughts on being a writer in chunks of 280 characters. We talked about how we motivate ourselves; what our deepest, darkest fears are; how we decide how much personal information to reveal in our writing; advice for new writers if they’re over the age of 40; and which writers both inspire and intimidate us.
You can read the highlights of this chat here.
In the coming weeks I am now going to resume other activities that will promote Gentle Creative. I was invited to do some guest posts for another publication which I had to put on hold and I also want to pitch some other writers and podcasters with whom I feel that I have some synergy. I need to take this slowly so I don’t put too much pressure on myself, but at a gentle plod, some outreach is now possible.
Finally, having bought a new handbag in the summer sales, I have done a little bit of writing in my fiction series. Again, all of this has been on hold for two months. I’m at the point where I need to read a reasonably polished draft of the second book in the series and a crappy first draft of the third book. I plan to start this the week after next.
The third book has a difficult subject matter and I have been struggling to figure out what it is really about. Last week, when I was reflecting on how isolating and horrible my fatigue has been, I realised I could draw on this experience. I’ve come up with the following theme – it’s about my heroine being trapped in the darkness of her own hell and how she finds a way to let the light in again.
The lesson for me was that even when you’re not able to write, your creativity can still percolate and you can come up with ideas that might not have arisen if life had been easier!
I hope everything is going well with your creative projects. Always feel free to hit reply and let me know how you’re doing. Or you can leave a comment. I love to hear from you.
Plodding gently
Cali x
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[GC Insider] Energy returns
Micro-writing is more of a challenge than we realize but for me, it is the lifeblood of writing. And it has made me a better editor.
All the best with the refurbishment Cali