Writer's Therapy

Comparison is inevitable, and it can be good or bad. Bad, in that it can lead to jealousy. Good, in that it can also mean inspiration and catharsis. We think about the nuances of comparison, and discover that Betty (my dog) is a dog celebrity.

We consider the importance of routine, and the way that a satisfying structure can give your life meaning and purpose. But does a routine mean we can't enjoy the beauty of each moment as it deserves? Includes a reading from The Philosopher and the Wolf (2008), by Mark Rowlands.

We consider if Oscar Wilde was right to assert that 'All art is quite useless', or if there are uses for art such as fiction writing - to be uplifting, perhaps, or to provide escapism. Quote from The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/174/174-h/174-h.htm

Jealousy, envy, is part of any creative pursuit. There will always be others who have the success you're looking for. The trick is not to let envy wear away at you and compromise your work. Quote from Othello III.iii

Writing is a cerebral process, but that doesn't mean that physical fitness is irrelevant. We think about the connection between creativity and bodily exercise, especially when it comes to discipline and the avoidance of malaise. Haruki Murakami interview in Der Spiegel (2008): https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-interview-with-haruki-murakami-when-i-run-i-am-in-a-peaceful-place-a-536608.html

All writers tend to have a daily minimum word count that helps them stay productive. We think about the virtues of this race-to-the-line approach versus putting aside a set number of hours in which to write, instead. Perhaps by creating a set space in which to work we can feel out the story better, with less self-imposed pressure.

Rejection comes with the territory when you're an aspiring writer. You can't let yourself get dejected and stop writing altogether, but we're only human and so it can be a tough thing to deal with. We think about rejection, and the tiny crumbs of encouragement you need in order to keep going. Stephen King, 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Writing:_A_Memoir_of_the_Craft

If jobs and the 'world of work' involve selling your time in order to be part of society, writing is something different. Writing is often about being yourself, cutting off from society at large. A vocation, perhaps, rather than a job. We discuss the implications of this. Philip Larkin, 'The Trees' (1974): https://poetryarchive.org/poem/trees/

The urge to capture painful things that happen to you, or around you, can be irresistible when you're a writer. In this episode we consider this urge from a moral perspective. Seamus Heaney, 'Digging': https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47555/digging

Is rewriting a self-explanatory concept? Or is there more to it than meets the eye? We think about the relationship between rewriting and editing, and if rewriting should really consist of redoing rather than simply refining. Picasso documentary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Picasso Iris Murdoch interview: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4383327

After the doing comes the selling. We think about the process of submitting work to literary agents, why it can be difficult, and speculate about the usefulness (or otherwise) of positive visualisation. Bernadine Evaristo interview: https://www.shortstoryaward.co.uk/news/interview-bernardine-evaristo/

Is it the job of a writer to be different? Or is it possible that in aiming for something unique, experimental writing puts 'being different' over other important functions of literature? Quote from 'Modern Fiction' (1919), by Virginia Woolf: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/monday-or-tuesday-by-virginia-woolf#

If we aren't having new experiences, will we run out of material from which we can create fiction? Or is there an unlimited 'word hoard', as Seamus Heaney describes it, we can delve into as long as we keep our eyes clear? We think about lockdown, and how it may or may not have affected writers. 'North', by Seamus Heaney: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48393/north-56d22998bff6c

A piece of writing can only be worth something once it's actually written. If it lives only in our minds it can only ever be, as Joseph Conrad once wrote, an 'evanescent reverie'. Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to bridge that gap between reverie and reality. 'A Set of Six' by Joseph Conrad: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2305/2305-h/2305-h.htm

In this first ever episode we compare writing fiction to being a hermit living in a dark cave. We also touch on John Keats' concept of "negative capability", and how it relates to writing short stories versus novels.