I’m really looking forward to delivering a brand new workshop on Nature Writing, this Thursday 24th October, for the Riverside Writing Group.
I have always had an insatiable interest in the natural world and from a young age have looked at, read about, drawn, and photographed nature. Much of my own writing looks at the way that human society and individuals interact with nature, both in positive and negative ways.
This workshop will look at what Nature Writing means, it will provide hints, inspiration and the opportunity to create some new work in any style, and of course it should be both enlightening and fun.
As always with Riverside Writers workshops this will be free of charge and takes place in Rochdale Central Library from 10am to 12noon. You don’t need any experience as a writer to take part nor do you need any expertise in the natural world – just a pen, paper and your thoughts. All welcome – the more the merrier!
I have previously written about the benefits of stepping outside our comfort zones. I might be mad, but next Saturday, 14th September I’ll be in Hebden Bridge stepping outside my normal comfort zones for the day.
Recently I saw the adverts for the first ever Calderdale Plein Air competition in Hebden Bridge. I don’t usually paint outside, especially where people might watch, I don’t usually enter competitions and I don’t usually make my art at a predetermined time and place. I also tend to avoid using terms that are exclusive, the sort that people might use to show that they have a bit more knowledge than others. “Plein air” is one such term, it just means “outside”, I prefer to use normal language so that more people understand.
So, of course, I entered the competition. I will be painting outside. I don’t have any expectation for my work to be placed among the prize winners, but I am hoping that this will be an enjoyable and positive challenge.
I don’t know what medium I will use just yet but there will be brushes and pencils and possibly a fountain pen or fineliners – the final choices will depend on the weather. I’ve also not yet decided which bit of Hebden Bridge I will be painting as there are so many attractive places to choose from.
Yesterday I submitted the final draft of a commissioned poem. This is a 3 minute film poem – I’ve done the writing and now it will be performed by a number of people at various locations and recorded by a professional film-maker.
It feels great to submit ahead of a deadline and I’m happy with what I have produced, but the reason for this post is to talk about what it takes to deliver a commissioned piece.
As I look back I find 10 pages of notes and plans, notes from two meetings, emails, index cards for some of my research, a good number of google searches and a dozen handwritten and word processed drafts.
Writing poems is fun and very rewarding. Occasionally a poem comes along without really having to work at it, for example one of my most recent was drafted, using my phone, on a bus and refined just a couple of times afterwards. Most of the time poems, even very short ones take a bit more development until they feel and sound right, and that development is a big part of the joy of writing poetry.
Once a commission is involved then things are a bit different, some of these are;
there will be a particular theme
the poem might be required for performance, for recording in audio of video media or it may be required to be printed in a particular format
there is usually a defined length in terms of lines, words or time
the commission will usually have a purpose which will define the mood or feel of the poem
there may be a requirement to collaborate with others
draft versions of the poem will generally need to be shared before the piece is finalised
there will be a deadline for the final submission
usually your work must not be made public until the time and place agreed with the comissioner
In short writing a poem for a commission is a project and needs to be planned and managed like any other project – but as a poet it is a really good discipline. Taking on occasional commissions is a great way to keep on developing your writing, it helps you to choose what messages a poem will end up giving and it helps you to keep your writing sharp and succinct.
Ideally it should also be financially rewarding. In the case of the recent poem I am pleased that the organisation commissioning it understand the work that goes into a three minute poem and pay a realistic rate.
Only in the creative arts are people expected to work “for exposure” and I strongly support the notion that artists should never be asked to work for free – exposure doesn’t pay the bills.
Do places become significant because of what happens there, or do things happen in places because those places have significance?
The weekend is a time I set aside for work on the longest piece of writing I have yet undertaken. It will become a book, and the papers and notes on my desk are all connected with research and planning the plotting, along with notes and text to be included.
The book is much more concerned with asking and considering questions than finding definitive answers.
The narrative tells a story of a journey through time and geography and Thin Places. “Thin places” is a term used in some cultures, particularly Celtic culture, to refer to special or significant liminal spaces. The question exercising my thoughts at this stage is:
Do places become significant because of what happens there, or do things happen in places because those places have significance?
I’m interested in your thoughts on this one….
If you have any thoughts, including experiences about the importance of place, please leave your comments below.
Writing, Editing, Compiling, Drawing, Painting, Designing, Illustrating, Facilitating, Photographing and of course lots and lots of thinking.
Taking a New Year’s Eve look back at 2023, a productive year. Among the most memorable are the following:
Collating, editing and designing the anthology “Poetry in the Park” including illustration for the cover
Leading a series of workshops for “Poetry by the Canal”
collating, editing and designing the anthology “Poetry by the Canal”
Cover illustration and design for “As You Were” an anthology from Falinge Park Writing Group
Delivering 15 creative writing sessions, based around my story “My Wild Wolf Adventure” for children aged 5 to 11
Delivering a range of new creative writing workshops to local Creative Writing Groups
Selling art alongside my wife selling vintage at Hand and Treasure in Hebden Bridge Town Hall
working with young people to create new poetry at Deeplish Primary Academy
Creating graphics for use in an excellent short film by Harry Wheeler
Reviewing a range of events and performances for All Across the Arts
Writing and sometimes plenty of new poems
Working on a brand new personal project, a narrative book length piece regarding liminal spaces with poetry and illustrations – this may take some time….
Creating new artworks including, and sometimes combining, traditional and digital techniques
Supporting the creativity of young people with our recently registered charity Vibe Rochdale
What is it, why do we get it and what can be done about it?
Giclée print of Pelican – shown in frame for illustration only
Almost everyone will at some time suffer from the thing we call imposter syndrome.
In strict clinical or psychological terms it is specifically used to describe a situation where the person with the syndrome has a persistent internalised fear and it can often be accompanied by other mental health issues.
In common language the definition is not so rigidly applied and it is essentially the feeling that we are somehow not sufficiently suitable, capable or qualified enough for the situation we are in. Suffering from imposter syndrome makes you feel like a fraud. I believe that it is perfectly possible to feel confident and competent in some areas yet feel the opposite in others. This is the definition I am using in this article.
One of the side effects of this type of imposter syndrome is the need to excessively prepare; for example if you are going to make a presentation to a group of people you would run through it again and again, you might well practice later into the night to be sure you are ready, you might spend the journey to make the presentation running through it in your mind. You may be tired and stressed by all the preparation yet the presentation will still go well but you are then sure that it only went well because of all the preparation that you did.
At a lesser level the feeling might prevent you telling people what you can do. As a professional freelancer you need to tell people what you can do, you need to promote your own abilities; that is tricky when the syndrome keeps telling you that you aren’t good enough.
Among the wide variety of work I’ve done is SOME illustration. I’ve designed a handful of book covers, I’ve been commissioned to produce drawings, I’ve edited books, I’ve created illustrations for instruction manuals and for training courses ranging from photography, digital imaging to bicycle maintenance. I’ve made illustrations for cards etc. Yet when asked to make some illustrations for a film my head shouts at me “you’re not an illustrator, why don’t they get a real illustrator?”
So I tell myself that “people have paid me to do illustrations for them, I’ve made illustrations for various jobs, therefore I am an illustrator” but in my head that nagging voice stills says “What if you can’t do it? What if they find out that you are a fraud?”
Illustration for book cover
As a poet I’ve performed in little open mic venues and on festival stages. I’ve learned how to work the room, how to use a microphone and how to pace my performance. I have run numerous workshops for all ages from 5 to 80+, I’ve led poetry writing projects and produced books.
I’ve had poems published in books and online and I’ve been interviewed for radio programs. I’ve been commissioned to write poems and am paid at a proper professional rate. With all of that I can call myself a professional poet, BUT there is that voice again; “you’ve not had a book in Waterstones, you’ve not been on television, you’ve not Amanda Gorman, Tony Walsh or Alfred Tennyson….”
That voice is sometimes hard to ignore. That voice is the imposter syndrome.
Feeling the need to produce good quality work is not imposter syndrome.
Feeling pressure to do better is not imposter syndrome.
Wanting to be the best you can is not imposter syndrome.
Those things are about ambitions, but handle ambition with care because it can lead to making unhelpful comparisons. Every poet is different, we each have our own styles, our own interests and create our own unique work. Whilst ambition to be better is good, ambition to be the next Armitage, Sissay or Duffy is not so good.
I don’t want to be the next Seamus Heaney, I want to be Seamus Kelly. I want to write, draw and create as Seamus Kelly. One place where I cannot possibly be an imposter is in being Seamus Kelly.
You have to be yourself. You have to stop comparing yourself in a competitive way to others. You have to stop putting yourself down. You have to stop undervaluing yourself, your skills, your work and your creativity.
You have to do all that whilst that voice says “fraud”, and you have to credit yourself for successes. The voice may never shut up, but using facts, actual things you have and can do, to tackle it can make things better.
Don’t be the next Picasso, Mozart, Wordsworth or Neruda – be you, look for the value there.
I’m not suggesting its easy, or that it can be done without help. My help comes from fellow creatives and from my wife. It comes from the person who comes up to thank me after a performance because a poem reminded them of their mother, it comes from faces listening for the next words. It comes from the workshop participant eager to share what they’ve written. It comes from the requests for me to produce creative work. All of those things are needed to quieten that voice, to confidently say “I’m not a fraud”, (and at least most of the time to believe it).
