I’ve always loved the physical act of writing and, from an early age, I was a fountain pen fan. Now, I have a huge collection of fountain pens! It’s always my preferred writing implement.
One of my favourite activities is going, alone, to a cafe with a notebook and pen, drinking coffee and writing.
There’s something magical about writing by hand. It’s not the same as typing on a computer. It seems to connect hand with brain in a different way. Although I draft a lot of my writing on my Mac, I always write some of it by hand. I feel more creative when I write.
Things to try.
- Write stream of consciousness - whatever pops into your head. Think of it as clearing out what’s on your mind. The more you can do this, the easier it is to tap into your vein of gold.
- A favourite book, Vein of Gold, is written by Julia Cameron, also the author of The Artist’s Way. A practice she recommends is Morning Pages. 3 sides of A4, handwritten first thing in the morning.
- Make up stories about other people. I love to create whole back stories about interesting characters in cafes. I sometimes use these summaries as the basis for fiction ideas.
