I'm Having So Much Fun
My loves!
Hello! Good news — the book writing continues to go well. I didn’t make my deadline to finish the first draft by last Friday but it’s ok, that deadline was just for me. My editor is expecting words in July and he will get them.
I have been reminding myself that all of this is a choice. As a child, if anyone had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d have said a writer. And look, now I am. Its wonderful. And yet I make it heavy and a drag and I load it all up with ‘this isn’t good enough’ or ‘who cares what you have to say?’ or — my favourite, ‘this is narcissistic bullshit.’
I also play a fun game called ‘A real writer would…’ so ‘A real writer would be on to her third book by now.’ ‘A real writer would be reading at night instead of watching Netflix.’ Then I imagine all the crappy things that critics could say… instead of just remembering: this is so much fun! Or at least it can be.
I started writing ‘This is so much fun, this is so much fun’ in my morning pages. I write the sentence about a dozen times before I start the book writing and I make myself smile as I write it. That probably sounds a bit mad but I once went to an exercise class where the trainer shouted at us to repeat the words “I f*cking love this!’ when we wanted to puke with tiredness. She told us that our brain believes what we tell it, and I think it worked, so I’m trying the same approach with writing.
Years ago, when I was a journalist and doing the same overthinking about mascara articles that I now do about book writing, I spoke to an acupuncturist who told me that I should repeat the mantra: ‘Writing’s easy, writing’s fun’. She suggested that every time I was stressed I should walk around the block repeating it. I did that for three years. I was living in West London at the time, and now if I go back to that area, the mantra automatically starts up in my head. And again, I think it helped. Looking back it was a very productive time.
So anyway, no doubt there will be a few more drops down metaphorical holes but, for now, the writing is so much fun and I’m grateful.
I was also listening to Tim Ferriss’ podcast with writer Greg McKeown this week. McKeown wrote a book called Essentialism which people rave about but I have not read. He has now written a book called Effortless which is about how to do things the easy way. He talked about starting projects by asking ‘What is the bare minimum I need to do?’ — and, far from being lazy, this actually makes us so much more productive. He describes in the podcast how many of us are so determined to go the ‘extra mile’ that, actually, we don’t even do the first mile because we are overwhelmed by the scale of what is ahead. Break down a task into its bare minimum and do the first step now and look— you are up and running.
Listening to this, I was thinking about Carrie. Because she cannot physically write or type, she talks into her computer which does the typing for her. It means that she can be writing all the time— when she is washing up or cooking, for example. For her, writing is like having a chat with someone. There is no reason we all couldn’t do this, if we opened our mind to a different way of working.
In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about Brene Brown’s approach to writing books. Brene gathers her friends together for a long weekend and basically tells them all the things she is thinking about including in her book, and they ask her questions about what she’s said, and then she goes away and scribbles frantically based on their response. She hated traditional, lock-yourself-in-a-room writing and this way of writing is like a conversation. Clever.
So anyway, I fear I am tempting fate with this new optimism but sod it! I’m having so much fun, while also being aware that a big part of this energy is probably coming from lockdown easing here, and I know that for many of you reading that may not be the case. If you are feeling tired and heavy and unproductive, I hope you can go easy on yourself and rest. I’m especially thinking of friends in India.
WHAT I’M READING
Nick Cave’s newsletter! I am not a huge fan of Nick Cave’s music but I love him as a human. His newsletters started just as a way of answering questions from his fans and they are just so gorgeous. They cover life, love... and hair dye.
This week he shared a note from Floella in North Devon, who wrote:
‘I’ve decided to embrace the glimpses of grey that have appeared in my hair in lockdown and stop getting it coloured. Have you been tempted to let your crowning glory grow silver?’
To which he responded:
Dear Floella,
No.
Love, Nick
This from David Whyte on friendship is beautiful. I can’t remember if I have already mentioned Brain Pickings but it is a treasure trove.
You can view my full list of recommended books below.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
Promising Young Woman - bloody hell. It’s dark and brilliant and not like anything I’ve seen before.
Martha Beck has a new book out called The Way of Integrity and I enjoyed this interview.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
Beverly Glenn Copeland. I’m going to write about him next week. Sue Rickards played him in a Five Rhythms dance session and I am quite smitten.
WHAT I’M BUYING
Peonies!
Writing for Fun and Sanity is back and you can book for all of May here.
. A reminder that this class isn’t about writing a book or a short story, it’s about writing for self-expression and as a way of moving the jumble of thoughts, fears and dreams from your head to the page in the hope that it will make you feel lighter. We have people join from all around the world, English does not have to be your first language and we never read out loud.
Here are some nice things people have said about them:
‘These workshops have genuinely been the best thing to happen to me in the last year. I’ve missed traveling so desperately, so seeing and hearing from people all over the world – as well as getting back to my writing - has been amazing.’ Ashley, Boston
‘Marianne has a wonderful way about her - it is always possible to be completely yourself in her company. She brings safety, warmth and honesty to the sessions that is contagious.’ Nikki, Dublin
‘I loved it. I loved the inclusivity and gentleness of the session. I went much deeper than I expected to. I surprised myself.’ Jason, Glastonbury