Two very quick things to mention before I get into the main topic of this newsletter! First, I’d like to thank you if you've responded to the survey I sent out last week. Your comments are extremely valuable as I prepare for 2017. Here’s the link, if you’d like to complete it – it will only take a couple of minutes and I’ll be very grateful.
Secondly, today (11th November) is your last chance to book for Julie Hearn’s day course for Fictionfire on writing successful teen fiction on the 19th November.
When you’re involved as I am in coaching writers, one of the central issues you deal with is the writing mindset. It’s crucial, of course. There’s a lot of focus these days on our mental health and the ongoing struggle to ensure that depression is taken seriously, that stress and its effects are understood.
But here’s the thing: I think sometimes we lose sight of something that’s just as important for our creative wellbeing as our mental health – and that’s the health of the body.
We tend to live as if our consciousness rides around on top of our bodies; for centuries we’ve assumed a separation between mind and body, between the controlling will and the vehicle subject to that control. When that vehicle breaks down, we assume that it has failed that will. We even start assuming there’s something wrong with the will too, because surely it should be able to maintain control over the body it’s in charge of? When we take that attitude it leads to people feeling somehow at fault for their own illnesses. Patients wonder if they allowed their disease to happen and beat themselves up for not ‘fighting’ it adequately.
Bodies do let us down. It’s extraordinary that they don’t let us down more. These complex miracles of cell division, of blood flow, of hormone pulses, of nerve sparks – they are triumphant constructs and systems, yet so very vulnerable and precious.
I'm pondering such things in the wake of a month of disabling knee-pain, so that I’ve scarcely been able to leave the house. This has led me to want to write honestly about illness in relation to our creativity and productivity, so please bear with me!
It’s easy, of course, to start with the negatives. What feelings might we potentially experience when illness strikes?
- Frustration when minor ‘normal’ activities become time-consuming and challenging.
- Pain and discomfort – both of which are magnified in our awareness the more we think of them.
- Overwhelm – we wonder how we are to cope and how long for.
- Fear – what is this thing that has struck us? How long are we going to have to feel like this? Is it going to get worse?
- Self-pity – nobody likes to see us wallow in regret for our lost ‘self’, the healthy self – but how can we not?
- Envy – we see others taking for granted simple things like breathing normally or putting a sock on their left foot in the morning and we could spit because they don’t even realise how privileged they are to do that.
So, what, then, can we say that’s positive? What can pain give us in exchange for what it takes away?
- Resilience – some kinds of pain come and go and we can learn to go with that rhythm, learning the strength to accept the fluctuations.
- Will and determination. There is indeed a relationship between mind and body and the mind can seek to discipline itself in that relationship. The mind can seek a way to manage the overwhelm and the panic.
- Inner awareness – an ability to go ‘within’, to pacify the mind, to achieve a kind of meditative state.
- Respect for our bodies – for when they do function well, or for the parts that keep functioning well when other bits don’t.
- Value – no longer taking for granted the state of ‘wellness’, knowing how precious it is.
- Empathy – being understanding of the suffering of others and sharing in common humanity.
This is a newsletter about writing, so what can we as writers take from this consideration of illness? It’s the job of the writer to show empathy: how can we invite readers to identify with the characters we create if we don’t identify with them ourselves? If we experience pain ourselves we are able to describe it and its effects without being superficial or facile. It will come from the heart. It will come from the marrow of our bones. Here’s a lovely quote from Candia McWilliam: ‘I want to pass it on, to pass the shiver that comes when we read and know for a time what it is to live, think, feel and be inside the mind of another.’
It also teaches us that we need to take care of ourselves. We need to nurture that vehicle, because without it the brain will not spark and the fingers will not fly over the keyboard and all that we had to say will wither within us, unexpressed.
How can you take better care of yourself?
- You can sleep and eat better, nourishing your physical self and giving it the time to recover from mental, physical and emotional strain.
- Take time off – how often do you go on holiday or take a break from the sheer ‘always on' nature of our lives?
- Understand and know your body. Yes, Googling ailments can be horrifying and convince us we’re suffering from every ill known to man! But I firmly believe that researching what our illness is and what means can be taken to alleviate it helps us to feel in control. I do feel the medical profession underestimates how important it is for a person to feel in control of their treatment choice. Information and choice = a sense of control.
- Find someone to listen to you. Alas, a harassed medical professional may not be that person. Being listened to, with patience and respect, is a cure in itself, serving to halt the spiralling panic unwell people often feel. Talk to loved ones, friends, fellow-sufferers. Go on forums, follow blogs. You are not alone.
- Be kind to yourself – that means a kindness towards your body. Cherish your physicality in this world. Wonder at the miraculous unconscious processes of being. Respect the vehicle carrying you through this life.
- Look outwards. Be aware of the pain others may be bearing. That pain may not be an obvious one – there are ‘invisible’ disabilities people carry. Admire their spirit, consider their needs.
So, at the end of all this have I reasoned myself out of the state of resentment I’ve been in during the past few weeks?
Maybe …!
Recommended reads – these are profound studies of the paradoxical transitions between states of illness and well-being:
Robert McCrum: My Year Off – literary editor of the Observer, he describes the effects of a stroke and how he recovered. www.amazon.co.uk/My-Year-Off-Picador-Classic/dp/1447289269/
Ben Watt: Patient – Ben was a member of the band Everything but the Girl, who in 1992 was struck down by a mystery illness which changed his life. www.amazon.co.uk/Patient-True-Story-Rare-Illness/dp/1408846608/
Candia McWilliam: What to Look for in Winter – afflicted by blindness that seemed to be permanent, she went ‘inwards’, reassessing the events of her past in a search for who she was. www.amazon.co.uk/What-Look-Winter-Candia-McWilliam/dp/0099539535/
The latest guest-post on my blog, Literascribe, is by Marg Roberts, who describes her path to publication with her novel A Time For Peace, published last month by Cinnamon Press. Her feature is here.
Upcoming competitions:
The prestigious Bath Children’s Novel Award for unpublished and independently published writers of children’s novels. Send the first 3,000 words and a synopsis: £1000. Cosing date: 20 November. Entry fee: £20 (well, I did say it was prestigious …) http://bathnovelaward.co.uk
Fish Prize for Short Stories: this is another expensive one, costing 20 euros by post, but it’s a very well regarded competition with a wonderful first prize of 3000 euros. Closes 30 November. www.fishpublishing.com
Warm wishes,
Lorna
P.S. If you did respond to my survey last Friday or Saturday and were kind enough to say you’d be happy to be named in comments, I have now updated the survey so that people can leave their name if they wish – otherwise it’s anonymous and I don’t know who you were! If you’d like to return to the survey it’s here or you can email me at info@fictionfire.co.uk
Reminder: booking closes today (11th November) for The Next Big Thing in Teen Fiction – Could You Be the One to Write It? on 19th November!
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