On not writing
Author James McCreet considers how the best writing sometimes comes from a period of not writing at all
CREATIVE WRITING
James McCreet
Here’s my guilty secret: I’ve not read a book or written anything creative for six months. When I think about this, I suddenly feel like I’ve forgotten to breathe for a very long time. Something is missing – something essential to life.
And yet, I believe such fallow periods are essential for any serious writer. I’ve been through them before – usually during times of great change and development. Often, the things I write about with the greatest passion and clarity are the things I learned when I wasn’t writing or reading. When I was just being myself and living life.
The hiatus has made me realise how important it is to sometimes turn off the laptop or put down the pen. Counterintuitive as it may seem – especially to new writers – the best way to recharge your literary batteries is simply to unplug and step away from the page. When we do this, we achieve new perspectives and reach higher levels.
Incest is bad
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that we copy our heroes, whether we realise it or not. Reading is essential to the development of any writer, but it also traps us in a world of words and style and stories. It’s not the real world. The real world is a place that defies narratives and which tends to offer us only a chaos of feelings. The real world is hard to write about.