The Curious Creative Club
A haven for curious creatives, just like me…
A little poetry practice, to soothe the soul…
Hi there, this week is going to be a little bit different, because quite frankly life is so bananas at the moment (not in the best way), it is difficult to fully focus, so what do I do when the shit hits the fan?
You know my answer to this by now right? I get creative, and transport myself to another land for a few hours; so, I thought after all this time I may as well share a little bit of my creative writing work, but please be kind!
Last week we had homework from one of my writing groups to write about things that bring us joy, which was an apt distraction, so I thought I’d write a poem for a change as I haven’t done one for a long time.
Once I’d finished it, it reminded me how much I enjoy writing poetry. It’s something, dare I say it without cursing myself, that I find quite easy to do. Normally I write rhyming poetry, but I fancied a challenge and so used the last line each time to bring the verses together and unite the whole poem.
Here are my steps for bringing a poem together:
- Normally, I quickly get the basics of the story (yes poetry is story telling too) down and then go back and refine it, examining it line by line and looking for ways to improve it and bring it to life visually to the reader.
- I try to use all the senses, metaphors and unusual description if I can, to give it some extra punch.
- I also add in action if I want to add some movement into the poem which was a key part of this particular one.
- Next, I’ll read it aloud, to show me any clunky bits that don’t work.
- I then generally show it to one of my children, to check they understand what it’s about and I’m not being too cryptic and then finally…
- I’ll read it aloud in class and hope it gets a good reaction! Thankfully this one did which is probably why I’m daring to share it!
So here it is for you to read and then I’ll talk more about it after…
I wait and watch…
Caramel conkers scatter the path, part-birthed from their spiny jackets Crop fields hacked into shredded wheat bales, stand tall for giant’s breakfasts The woodland peels away to burnished golds, latte leaves pour from varnished branches And I wait and watch the slow rising mist disperse over sunken fieldsHot Berries, tiny as jewels decorate glossy, emerald prickle bushes Whilst a frozen blanket of crocheted decay, crunches underfoot Ominous skies of stratus grey lay heavily burdened by the promise of snow And I wait and watch for the first falling to paint the fields clean
Birdsong returns with frenetic force, speed dating in sweet melody Golden trumpets announce the arrival of Spring, rising up from grassy banks Cherry blossoms stand proud, scenting the street as their confetti spirals on cool breezes And I wait and watch for pale skies to be sliced by wings of swooping swallows
Lambs grow from skinny legged younglings into sturdy curious creatures, keen to come close Bees and butterflies flock to fragrant nectar, flaunting hypnotic patterns that dazzle and dance Spectacular sunsets sink into valleys spilling amber, violets and sugar pink across the horizon And I wait and watch the molten glow, rooted to this earth, barely breathing in awe
Copyright: Juliet Thomas
As you know, if you follow this blog’s images and especially my Instagram page @soothedbynature, you’ll know that nature and the seasons is a big part of my life, routine and enjoyment on a daily basis.
I get a lot of inspiration from the photos I take (like above) and that is why I loved writing this poem so much, trying to capture my passion for what I discover and also that sense of awe I have for this ‘bigger than us’ world out there, watching and waiting for each season and taking it all in.
I did a slight twist on the order of the seasons on purpose, for one, we are at the beginning of Autumn in the UK and I wanted to start with the slowing down of that Season.
Autumn is the Season we associate with change and so it seemed the best place to start, to give that sense of magical movement and transformation from one season to the next.
Plus, I wanted to finish on the sight that probably transfixes me the most, a Summer sunset, that always, without fail, leaves me reaching for my camera.
For me, poetry is not about sticking to any kind of stanza rules or verse structure, the essential thing is that it comes from the heart and the reader can relate to it and picture the scene before them.
And ANYONE can do it, poetry is accessible to all and a much simpler and quicker process than writing a short story or novel that require so much more planning, characterisation and plot structure.
Essentially, poetry can be just a collection of your thoughts and doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s about creating emotion and description in a very short piece and as such allows you to focus on the really important key words, like a short sharp lesson in editing!
So why not give it a try? It’s such a simple way to get creative, enjoy that flow-state it brings to our busy minds and the more you practice the better you get. Also, you don’t have to pick a complicated subject, it can be about literally anything.
Why not start with a list like we did in our writing group of the small things and moments that bring you the most joy and go from there?
And if you get more confident, poems can make great little ‘free’ creative gifts for family and friends too, especially if you write it out in nice handwriting or decorate with a few drawings.
If you have a go, do let me know how you got on; how did it make you feel, was it a challenge, what did you choose to write about, are you pleased with what you produced, did you dare to share?
Wishing you a creative,calm and poetic week!
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
P.s The next WOW Wednesday is this week on the 9th of October, 9.30am at Miriam’s Kitchen Table, Kirkburton, Huddersfield. WOW Wednesdays are free and open to everyone with new members coming along to every meeting so why not give us a try? We’d love to see you there, click on the link above to find out more.
Why accountability is key to personal growth
As our local community accountability group, ‘WOW Wednesday’ grows, I wanted to talk to you about how this is working for the diverse range of people that have joined the group, (23 and counting!).
The group came about, primarily for four reasons;
- I wanted to help people similar to myself who worked from home, predominantly on their own or who ran their own businesses, in the process of studying for that long held dream, or simply those who had some goals that they wanted to push along with and needed some help.
- I wanted it to be something different to what is already on offer out there; an ACCOUNTABILITY group, not networking focussed, although this does happen naturally within the group. We have many networking groups in the local area, that charge a fee to join. I wanted this to be free, open to everyone and involve action – moving forward every time we meet.
- I wanted to hold it in a café that shares the same ethos as me, to support the local community. Miriam’s café has a large dose of community spirit, she sells third party local products, facilitates workshops (including my writing ones) and most importantly serves delicious locally roasted, Darkwoods coffee and makes the best brunches, lunches and home-made cakes. Holding it here supports her business too.
- I run this group with my accountability buddy Clair and this is an extension of what we already do between ourselves, if the worst happened and no one showed up, we could at least just have an accountability meeting ourselves, and some nice coffee and cake while we were at it!
The lovely Miriam in the centre, delicious cakes on the left and the unique ambience she’s created in her cafe @miriamskitchentable by partnering with local businesses to sell their products, she even sells my cards there too!
The group only started in June and already is coming together as a formidable force, taking the opportunity to connect with like-minded people and simply get stuff done. We started off with 10 people turning up, a surprise to say the least and it has just grown each week from there with new members joining every 2 weeks.
The reason it works I think is for several reasons;
- We are all in the same boat, despite having completely different backgrounds, businesses or interests, we can all identify with the challenges we face
- We can bounce ideas off each other, working on your own can be pretty isolating, it’s good to talk to others about your plans and gain feedback
- There are no airs and graces with this group, we are very open, supportive and usually at least one member of the group has the answer to a particular problem.
- They all can see how accountability is working for them. By nailing down 3 key things they want to achieve in their business / work /craft and 1 life goal and confirming that aloud to the rest of the group, they are much more likely to achieve it…..even if it is the night before a meeting (that’s usually me!)
- We have a Whats App group for those moments of weakness or celebrations in-between meetings. The group often shares interesting links to information or events too.
- We know that time is precious, so there’s no strict rules about attendance, we know there are other things out there that suck up time, so we’ll see them at a future meeting instead.
So why am I telling you all this, firstly it’s all about working out how you work best and a great way of doing this is by doing the test that Gretchen Rubin invented called the 4 tendencies (detailed in her book too; The Four Tendencies).
It’s all about how we rise to expectations, both internal and external in order to achieve what we want to. There are 4 different tendencies; Upholders, Questioners, Obligers and Rebels and you can find out which you are by doing this short quiz;
https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/
According to Gretchen, in a nutshell, this is how the types are broken down in response to both internal and external expectation:
- Upholders want to know what should be done.
- Questioners want justifications.
- Obligers need accountability.
- Rebels want freedom to do something their own way.
She goes on to say; ‘Knowing our Tendency can help us set up situations in the ways that make it more likely that we’ll achieve our aims. We can make better decisions, meet deadlines, meet our promises to ourselves, suffer less stress, and engage more deeply with others.
Just as important, knowing other people’s Tendencies helps us to work with them more effectively. Managers, doctors, teachers, spouses, and parents already use the framework to help people reduce conflict and make significant, lasting change.’
Unsurprisingly, it’s Obligers that come out top in terms of percentage of the types, with many people finding it hard to let others down (meeting outside expectations, more than your own inner ones) but this is where bringing in accountability can actually help you lean in to your type and make your tendency work for you.
And don’t forget this isn’t a hard and fast rule, there will be situations where you might find yourself becoming more of a questioner for example, but overall, I think it’s a useful indication in understanding how you work best.
With permission from our members, I want to just use a few examples of how our WOW group is working for people in completely different ways, so you can see if this might be something that would work for you or you could also set up a similar group in your local area.
So as I said when we first started we had no clue who might turn up and what their motivations were and so we are a very eclectic mix, but that just makes it all the more interesting and gives us a very wide skill bank to call upon for support!
Here are some examples of the diverse people we have in the group who are all at different stages of their businesses / goals and life aspirations!
Michelle is a very busy, driven businesswoman who is juggling some really important aspects of her business right now, for example applying for funding to take her successful social media app further. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the group, such as growth strategy. I think she enjoys offering her skills and support, knowing she can help us, as well as the sense of satisfaction that she’s getting from regularly achieving her goals and moving her business forward.
Kelly is studying to become a Counsellor and so is using this group to keep on track with her assignments and planning but also observing what things to put in place when she does fully qualify and can then set up her own practice.
Chris has had his own business making fibre glass products for years but in his words ‘is not business-minded’! His first goal on his list was to buy a whiteboard for his workshop to write things on instead of keeping them in his head, he’s come on leaps and bounds since joining!
Emma is an artist and a single mum of 2 girls, juggling working part-time, trying to run her own business aswell as managing some health conditions so she has it all going on! She can’t always make the meetings but still finds it useful to have a supportive group to tap into and we love her gorgeous artwork!
Stef is right at the beginning of her business journey, having literally just set it up and so is trying to balance all the logistics and planning! It’s an exciting but also slightly daunting time so we are happy to help spread the word about her brand-new business.
Jac has a recycled furniture business with her husband and is also a talented pyrography artist. She admits she finds it hard to set goals and is with the support of this group is hoping that this will improve.
Tamara has an essential oils business and does oil based treatments too (she brings her lovely oils to the group too!), she’s a mum to 4 young children and has an interesting challenge in that she’s probably returning to the States next year, so is in a bit of a dilemma as to how far she wants to take the business over here in the UK, and of course we’re helping her with that!
New member Anna, I met through one of my writing workshops and has come to the group to try and figure out what creative direction she wants to go in and so is right at the beginning of her journey.
And finally, Wendy, who comes to the group, not because she needs pushing but actually the opposite. She is constantly trying to reign herself in. She has a busy working life, as a psychotherapist, well-being expert and mindfulness practitioner and when she switches into work mode becomes completely engrossed, Wendy uses the group to set herself targets to limit her working hours as part of her own well-being practice and she regularly gives us wise advice in return!
This is just a third of our group members but hopefully it shows you the diverse range of businesses, personal challenges and what kind of support is helping them by being part of the group. I firmly believe it is the diversity of skills and personalities that really makes this group work.
Just a few of our lovely WOW members, the group has grown to 23 and counting!
Tamara put it best in the first ever meeting, she said;
‘I want to stand next to tall people in order to become taller!’
I think this is a great message, we learn and rise up by supporting and connecting with others and I couldn’t be prouder of this group. We all grow and show up in different ways (hence the leaves pic!) and it’s great to see people shining in their own unique way. They are a kind, creative and generous bunch who have taught me so much in just 3 months and I know that this will continue!
Being accountable definitely works for me, as proved last year when I worked with Gabrielle Treanor when she was training to be a life coach.
It seems I like to overly please (Obliger tendency!) and so I went above and beyond what I said I would complete, i.e. 8k words written on my novel instead of 5k and on other writing goals I had too – it’s funny how sometimes you value other people’s recognition of what you’ve got done more than your own, maybe it feels more valid somehow?
When searching for some positive quotes on accountability, I came across this, which I really like;
‘Accountability eliminates the time and effort you spend on distracting activities and other unproductive behaviour. When you make people accountable for their actions, you’re effectively teaching them to value their work. When done right, accountability can increase skills and confidence.’
Taken from Cedarville.edu/studentleadership@Cedarville.edu
I think this highlights the positivity of accountability rather than the old school connotation we may have from our educational days, for example; ‘You must be accountable for your actions!’ if you did something bad or got into trouble.
So, what do you think? Is this something that could really help you with your creative dreams, business goals or even just getting some life plans sorted out? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
If you do think this could work for you I highly recommend finding a like-minded friend who you can trust to push you a little and just commit to reporting what you’ve managed to get done each week, and of course celebrate those wins, big or small.
Do let me know how you get on!
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
Can planning free up more space for your ideas?
Main image – Getting my pine cones in a row this Autumn…
This week I’ll admit, for once I didn’t have a clue what I was going to write until Sunday night, which is rare more me, ideas usually spring up by at least mid-week.
I wondered if this was a sign that I should have written that ‘Ideas for Blog themes’ list that’s been on my ‘To Do’ list for a while and therefore it was my own fault for failing to plan for those ‘brain fog’ days? Maybe I’d gotten too comfortable trusting myself that the ideas would come?
So that got me thinking about planning, which apart from the ‘themes’, I’ve actually been doing a lot of in other areas of The Curious Creative Club. I decided that my spidery notes in my journal were not good enough and I needed to get more effective on scheduling time in for different pieces of work.
So, last week, I did a full-on schedule for my week, hour by hour, I even colour coded it into the following areas:
Pink = Self Care, Exercise (inc dog walks), Friend Catch-ups, nights out and photography time
Green = The Curious Creative Club; admin tasks, Blog posts, Social Media and business workshops / learning
Blue = Writing; my own writing, the book, planning and delivering my writing courses and writing groups that I belong to
Yellow = Art; art-work time, groups and workshops I got to, Art events I exhibit or run stalls at and finally Art admin – going to the printers and delivery etc
Orange = Housework, day to day chores, food shopping and Mum Taxi!
This technique enabled me to see where most of my time goes, and to ensure there was a spread of colours across my week like a rainbow! Needless to say, the over-riding glow was orange, BUT it did cover everything else fairly evenly too.
Since then I’ve broken it down further and bought a book for daily plans, because the small journal I have just wasn’t cutting it anymore, not enough space for my long action lists!
So, did it work? Well I didn’t complete all the tasks on there, it was a little ambitious and didn’t account for any ad-hoc things coming up, but it did keep me more on track and I had a better idea of the key things that I needed get done that week. Plus, the simple act of writing it down and using colour really works for me, more like a colourful visual map of my week, that sinks into my brain better.
After doing all this I was feeling a little more in control and it even spilled out into creating a weekly menu too – mainly to stop the kids asking what was for tea as soon as they walked through the door, I mean my son even texted me from the bus one night for goodness sake! Thankfully it’s working, apart from when it’s something they don’t absolutely love!
Next, thanks to using @ruthpounwhite’s ‘Back to Business’ free email challenge, I had access to her 3-month planner template, which just makes you step back a little and look ahead at what the key things are that you need to get done over the next few months…..and that got me thinking about the ‘C’ word which you’ll be surprised to know I am fearful of and hate thinking about it until at least Halloween has gone by. I have a friend who sends me text messages counting down to Christmas from about week 14, – it literally drives me insane, so of course she does it all the more!
Usually creative makers love the run up to this time of year, it’s one of their busiest and most lucrative seasons and they have probably been planning for it 6 months ago, but I am notoriously bad at it, despite selling lots of Christmas cards last year (all very rushed and last minute!).
So, I’m trying to embrace it all a little sooner by doing some research on trends, which I actually find fascinating, to help inspire ideas for my card collection this year.
For those who leave it as late as me, there are some useful resources out there; here are my tips if you want to quickly dream up a new collection of creative goods!
- Listen to the Elevate Your Curiosity podcast by Joanne Griffin, a retail specialist and designer who talks lots about upcoming trends, way in advance! You can also follow her @arnoldandbird on Instagram and Pinterest, where she shows examples of her suggested themes on her boards.
- Pinterest itself is great for having a browse on what is out there already, and helps you to discover what you are drawn to. I’d also suggest creating a board yourself, specifically for your next project that you can easily refer back to and narrow down what appeals to you most, before getting completely lost in the Pinterest Universe!
- Get out on to the high street and local artisan and craft shops, see what’s out there, note key themes and colours. Retail is always ahead of the game, working on their current themes many months prior. Whilst you don’t want to copy, obviously your designs should ideally be unique to make you stand out from the crowd, there may be elements of themes you can use that gives it that current edge.
- Ask you friends, colleagues, family for their thoughts – what is their preference – this is particularly useful regarding pricing too.
Just some of the ideas I’ve been gathering from Pinterest for my next Christmas card collection
If you have great ideas already then draft them up and test them out on your customers – you could easily use Instagram stories for this using their ‘poll’ gif.
Planning can not only help you be one step ahead of the competition, but also help you to tap into all your ‘planner’ customers; you know the ones who get giddy and organised at least 3 months in advance? It gives you a longer stretch to sell, which means you maximise your seasonal designs over a longer period of time and hopefully make more money.
Also, when you have more than one creative project on the go, like me, planning is practically essential, or you’ll just end up never quite finishing one thing and spinning quickly into the other.
Some of the new designs I’ve been working on…
For example, I’m currently working on a regular update to my card collection, the Christmas card collection, pulling together my new Writing Course which begins in October and planning ahead for new elements of our accountability group – WOW Wednesdays.
Using Ruth’s 3-month planner has helped me to see the key weeks where each element slots in and what I need to do before and after the main activity.
Not surprisingly, planning has other benefits too as cited in Andrew Macleod’s book, ‘A positive psychology perspective on quality of life.’
He states, ‘Individual well-being has been linked to having an approach to life that is goal-based. That is, those who have a goal-based orientation and a tendency towards planning report a higher sense of well-being.’
This makes sense to me, planning certainly get’s rid of that sheer panic that you’ve forgotten to do something major or that you’ve run out of time and can’t get that perfect piece of art to the printers on time. Essentially when you have a plan, you feel more in control. For me, it also breeds a little more self-confidence, like you officially know what you are doing, because you have a plan! It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The one exception to pre-planning? Capturing the moment with photography, nature has a way of saying, ‘I’m here, lets do this!’
And whilst some creatives may feel it flies in the face of that ‘free-spirit’ feeling and that you can’t plan in when the creative lightening will strike, I do think that just getting down even a rough plan, does free up your brain for the really important stuff, the thing you love to do – create!
After all you can only hold so much in your head at any one time, right?
Plus, if you get all the nitty-gritty bits down on paper / computer or your phone, whichever works best for you, and schedule in the time for your creative projects, then you’re left with far more space for ideas and time to paint, write, knit, compose music or whatever floats your creative boat!
It’s those delightful chunky slabs of time, i.e more than that 15 minutes before you pick the kids up from school, or that half hour after dinner when you feel like you should do something but you’re too shattered, that are really important to us.
If you plan it in, it’s far more likely to happen.
So, maybe the saying could be true; If you fail to plan, you plan to fail?
It’s certainly worth a try with only 3 months left until the end of 2019, and a whole host of things I want to get done.
This year has been so great, in terms of the Blog and what I’ve done with The Curious Creative Club in just 9 months since I launched and I’ve run with all kinds of ideas and opportunities that have felt completely right for the direction I want to go but as new things come in and more and more ideas escalate, it’s definitely time to nail down a more forward thinking plan.
I’ve even taken a leaf out of Ruth’s book, and started to park my ideas, finally understanding that I won’t get to them immediately this year, no matter how much I want to! I’ve put them into a list for 2020, I’m actually reigning myself in which is major progress!
Plus of course my fellow WOW Wednesday accountability buddies help enormously with looking forward and planning ahead. For anyone interested in joining us, please click here. The next meeting is this week on the 25th September 9.30am at Miriam’s Kitchen Table, Kirkburton.
And if you live too far away to come along, why not set up your own? It’s so easy and a brilliant way to meet like-minded people who support each other in their businesses, passions or goals. If you do set one up then please do let me know, I would make my day!
I hope that this has been helpful in getting you to think how you would work best, are you a planner, like I’m learning to be, or do you fly by the seat of your pants and it still works out OR are you thinking it might be time for a change?
Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
Until next time….
Juliet, The Curious Creative Club x
P.s In the spirit of encouraging people to talk more and take more action on climate change, please see a post I did below on Friday and if you want to find out more, please click here.
Creating a Vision Board to keep sight of what you want
First of all, I just wanted to update you a little on last week, where I wrote my most personal blog yet. Although it was scary, I’ve had so much lovely feedback from it (thank you!) and it felt good to open up about writing from personal experience. If you missed it and want to catch up, it’s here.
Plus, I did what I said I’d do too – read out-loud a personal short story at a new writers group called the Writers League at my local bookshop Read, my heart was hammering as I did it but I survived and that’s the main thing!
So, onto this week’s topic of Vision Boards! This came about as myself and friend Clair went along to @writerstogether’s first Vision Board workshop in the lovely Art in the Mill in Knaresborough last week.
I’ve always wanted to have a go at doing a Vision Board and so when I saw this course advertised, which also promised coaching on the ‘law of attraction’ and how to find clarity on your focus, I jumped at the chance.
The workshop was run by Francesca Hepton, a writer and writing mentor with an added interest in complimentary therapies (of @francescahepton) and Susanna Lewis (of @a_yorkshire_girl), a well-being blogger, speaker and writer who have come together to create Writers Together.
Francesca and Susanna, our teachers for the day!
After a quick introduction, the group, around 8 of us, were guided through a mediation which involved us walking along a beach to meet someone at a campfire who then passed us a box, inside the box was a gift and a few words but we weren’t told what.
After the mediation finished, we were then asked the following questions; who was by the fire, what colour was the box and any ribbon etc, what was in the box and what words did you see? You had to go with your first instant thought and not try to change it.
Francesca then analysed our results! So, for me it was my husband by the fire (although I suspect that is because I associate him with fire-pits and bbqs!), the box given to me was white leather, with no ribbon, inside was a very ornate, antique style old gold or bronze bangle style bracelet with an oval green stone in the middle and the only word I saw was ‘follow’.
I found doing this exercise so interesting! Francesca straight away asked if I believed in magic to which said yes (especially in terms of signs and higher powers in force in this world!) and she said I need to find a similar bracelet to keep with me as a talisman. She also told me that green means ambition, magic and jealousy but she didn’t think I was jealous – my husband being by the fire was a good sign – phew! She said my message was more about ambition, magic and bringing a more financial aspect into what I’ve been doing. The word ‘follow’ was simply a sign to follow my dreams and keep going.
It’s true that I‘ve been thinking about this as mostly what I do with The Curious Creative Club is free, other than my writing workshops and whilst this venture is definitely not about money for me, I consider the more people I can help to live a creative life as the meter of success, it would still be nice to earn a little from it too.
The rest of the group had really interesting results too, with quite a few not having anything in their box. Clair had pictured a man carrying a backpack by the fire, like a traveller she had seen many of when she was younger and went travelling around the world. Francesca honed in on that aspect and implied that she missing travelling and that sense or freedom and space.
Following the mediation Susanna talked a little about the law of attraction and how switching how you think can make something positive happen. She used parking spaces as an example! Often when we turn up to a car park we are thinking ‘I’m never going to find a place!’ and then often don’t, whereas if you flip that and think, ‘I will find a space today’, you will! It’s an interesting concept and one I’ll definitely give a try!
Our default as a species is to think more negatively, such as if one thing goes wrong in the morning, you are destined for a bad day. Essentially, it’s all about focusing more positively about what you want in life and then it’s more likely to happen.
Next she went on to talk about the vision boards and how to do them, a whole host of magazines sat in the centre of the table and we each had a small canvas board to stick things on to.
Participants getting busy with their scissors!
Susanna recommended writing key words down first to give you an idea of elements to focus on, on your board, so for example we might want to consider aspects that came out of the meditation.
I cut everything out and laid it all out before sticking down
I love messing about with magazine images and words so I had clear ideas of the kinds of things I wanted and quickly went to work cutting away!
Whilst there were definite goals I wanted to place on there in terms of creativity, I also considered adding a few financial goals too, but more in terms of aspirational future things that would mean more to me than money.
Therefore, on went a Summer House (which we’ve been talking about could be partly a creative space for me) and also a picture of a high cliff overlooking the sea – my absolutely dream is to have a cottage with a sea view at some point that I can escape to, to write or use as a creative retreat for customers. The fact it had a puffin on there too I realised later was quite significant, not only do I remember these a lot from my childhood holidays with my Dad bird watching, but also of course ‘Puffin’ is a book publisher!
I was also naturally drawn to magical imagery and words, which I think I would have chosen even if it hadn’t come out of the mediation, my favourite image on there is the lady in pink levitating in the forest – that feels like me to a tee!
A rainbow had to feature too, with the idea being in the article I took it from, that everything is in the palm of your hands – again a good message to remind myself of.
I had things linked to my house, the ‘calm and cozy’ wording is how I always like to feel, the neat and tidy pink chair is how I wish my living room would remain, without kids and a the dog diving all over it!
I then chose things that linked to my dreams as a writer; a journal to remind me to make it more personal sometimes, ‘Book Reviews’ – to remind me to get to that point with mine, a key, because that is the name of my book – ‘The key to everything’ and also the cover of Psychologies magazine who I would love to work with more in the future.
I also found an image of Allison Sadler with ,her Rebel Club T-shirt on – a woman I know from Instagram with qualities I deeply admire and I love all that she represents – fun, feisty and fabulous, which is why she is also on there – a reminder to not take myself too seriously.
Finally, I added healthy soups and fruit on there as I need to get back to some healthy eating habits!
So, you get the idea, Vision Boards need to be extremely personal, and each piece needs to really mean something to you. The images don’t necessarily need to be literal either, for example a plug doesn’t mean ‘turn the plug off’ as it might to someone, it is to remind me to stop and re-energise sometimes as often I keep going until I drop.
Whilst doing our boards and chatting, we realised something else too, that the way we display our images says a lot about us; mine has as much on as possible, with no space at all and lots overlapping – if that’s not a metaphor for my life I don’t know what is!
My board also naturally had similar colours that I love and bring instant calm and sanctuary to me, deep sea blues, teals, turquoise and forest greens, star-fish pinks and even an energising orange is in there too – this also mirrors my Living Room and office, all colours I’m clearly drawn to!
As an artist who loves colour, it felt important that it wasn’t garish or dull and would have a theme that would sit harmoniously in it’s environment, which will be most likely be my office.
Other participants boards were completely different, many had lots of purposeful space, so they would include some space in their lives. Others were more focused on one specific aspect of their life such as health, there was a real mixture!
Clair’s board, all about travel, exploring and space
Susanna also talked about how important it was that your vision board isn’t hidden away, it needs to be somewhere where you see it on a regular basis or as you walk passed for it to have the biggest impact.
My summary is that doing a Vision Board is a really fun and useful exercise and one that can give you real clarity on what’s important to you over say the next 6 months. I think its crucial to keep revisiting it and change or update it accordingly if situations change – this is a living breathing entity, just like your work and dreams.
And if you get a taste for it, you can always do more than one, I quickly ran out of space and could have done more, so it might be that you have a vision board for different areas of your life, such as health, creative hobbies, work, family, holidays, money etc, Susanna knows of a client who has a whole wall full!
Just before I left the workshop, I had a few realisations; firstly was the fact I had picked up a piece of bright green sea glass from the beach in Conwy a few weeks ago and I was going to show it to a friend who makes sea glass jewellery to see if she could do anything with it – maybe this is the green stone bracelet to use as a talisman?
And secondly one about the word ‘magic’ that made my hairs stand on end (this often happens to me!).
About 3 weeks prior to the workshop I’d read an article about an old-style bus that had been refurbished into a place to stay and was close to a place I’m desperate to visit, Hay on Wye. It looked amazing and I quickly sent the link to Clair and Kelly saying ‘we have to go to this and can we use it as a business retreat?!’ And what was that bus called? The Magic Bus. Now if that’s not a sign to go to it, I don’t know what is!
This is why I believe in magical signs!
Let me know how you get on if you give this a go and make your own vision board and send a picture to me via my Instagram account @thecuriouscreativeclub. I’d love to see how they look!
Until next time…wishing you a magical week!
Juliet, the curious creative x
P.s To find out more about Writers Together’s events, click here
Can fear spark a deeper level of creativity?
Okay, health warning, this is quite a deep subject but one I think is pretty important and it came to me over a general chat catching up with two friends last week.
I’ve worked out lately that I’m really crap with uncertainty and this is what I was talking about to them. I’m not a huge forward planner, month by month is enough, but I like to know roughly what I’m doing, when I’m doing it and tend to look forwards rather than backwards, full steam ahead; that is until life throws you a curve ball.
There’s a flummox of uncertainty around us at the moment, in a few different areas, which isn’t hugely disastrous, I don’t want to be overly dramatic, BUT It is an unusual circumstance for us to be in and so it’s putting us a bit in limbo, a little stuck. As I said I like to keep moving forward so I’m not used to this inertia and waiting to see what happens.
Thankfully we are not the types to panic, in general, I tend to not get very upset in life and you’re far more likely to get me crying over an episode of 24hrs in A&E than actually attending A&E with a family member, which is a little bit weird I know!
As a complete Empath, I tend to feel what others feel, rather than feeling upset if something happens directly to me, when that happens, I go into practical mode and problem solve.
However, I had a bit of a light-bulb moment in our discussion, one of my friends is training to be a counsellor and so is rather intuitive and knowledgeable about this stuff. Talking it through, I realised feeling this anxiety over uncertainty, likely stems from my childhood (usually the case huh?!). Back then I was not in control, my parents were and there was nothing I could do about some pretty turbulent times aged 11-18.
Speaking to my friend, I told her that people sometimes think I’m odd, because I don’t show emotion when explaining what happened in those times, and to be fair that is genuinely a dramatic story, it would make a great book.
I was so determined to not let that period in my life affect me, that I packaged it all up very neatly in multiple boxes with extra secure padlocks and piled them up in a deep bunker so that it’s practically impossible to access it.
As an adult now, I mostly feel fully in control of my destiny, to the extent of being part of a family who also get a say in our direction, but in no way do we lead ourselves into the path of danger or uncertainty, purposely.
When I explained how I’d ‘coped’ with my childhood experiences she gently smiled and said that sometimes, despite it being painful we have to re-visit them, reassess how we feel about what happened now we are further down the line and look them in the eye, so they don’t feel so dark and threatening, before once again returning to normal life.
This is something that I very rarely do, unless something triggers a memory of that time, I certainly don’t go seeking it out. She’d had a similar situation recently, which was comforting to know as she too has had very challenging times but now that she had the tools from her training, she knew what to do; looked it in the eye, talked it through, dealt with it accordingly and moved on.
I then explained that talking about it never bothers me (mainly I think because I feel so distanced from that bunker), but writing about it does. As a writer you’d think that would be the first place I’d start and not so long ago I realised I often write about what I’ve done, achieved or notes to do in my diary but rarely go deeper, never explain how I feel at the time.
To me writing about it feels too real, if you write it down, it’s history on a page, it happened, and do I truly want to have that as part of my story?
Yet, duh, of course it is part of my story, not writing it down doesn’t mean it never happened.
So, I’ve come up with a solution, to see if tackling uncertainty (old and new) head-on helps, instead of trying to squash it down and wonder why I’m not feeling at my best.
I’ve decided to write things down but with a difference, to write as a character, as a 3rd party, creating the distance to not let it become too overwhelming.
Examining this idea, I realised I’ve done this before, back in my Uni days I wrote one of our final pieces for my degree, which had to be about a personal experience.
My article centred on the divorce of my parents, and all that happened over a few years, but I started off writing it as if I was looking down, watching the girl I once was, sat in a garden, cross-legged making daisy chains which bizarrely made it enjoyable and therefore I did a ‘good’ job of getting the story across without being over emotional, yet it was still very real.
I must’ve done a pretty convincing job because my tutor called me in after giving me the top mark and questioned, ‘Did this really happen?’ and when I answered yes, then asked, ‘Well how did you turn out to be so normal then?’ Hmmm I beg to differ, but it was funny at the time!
It taught me the lesson of how powerful personal experience writing can be and yet I’ve rarely done it since. I was 21 when I wrote it, had escaped my small Yorkshire home-town and a house full of memories to the seafront and buzz of Plymouth, maybe that was the story I just had to get out at the time, in order to truly put it to bed.
Last week I went back to my various writing groups and I know this new knowledge will help me access those less joyful experiences and tap into a deeper creativity, but it does require an element of courage when letting other people hear your work!
For example, I’ve got homework to do on ‘settings’ for one group and I’ve chosen my experiences at a young age of going into what felt like the ‘adult’ world of the Working Men’s Club on a Saturday night with my parents and recognising the differences between them, even back then.
For Yorkshire Writers Lunch, I’ve put my name down to do a post on November the 4th and have written a very personal story around Bonfire night and what that date means to me now.
I think getting the feel and atmosphere of the story across becomes even more essential with personal stories, because they mean more to you, you want the reader to feel as you did. Ultimately that’s the magical possibility of a good story.
The question is, will I be brave enough to read it out and test the waters at my local bookshop, Read’s new writing group that I’m also joining this week? I hope so.
As ever, when I have light-bulb moments like these it leads on to a catalogue of ideas and so the next logical step for me is to pass on knowledge and share experience and so, in the early hours of this morning (as we returned to my daughter’s swim training), I planned a whole new writing course in my head, around this very topic!
The ‘Playing with Writing’ workshops I’ve done this year have gone so well as an introduction to people to creative writing, to help them generate ideas and look for stories in every-day life.
Doing them has taught me even more about the value of people doing something creative, to take some time out for themselves and produce something personal to them. It feels good to be on the right track and I want to do more!
So, this is what I’m going to focus on; ‘Writing from Personal Experience’ to delve deeper into this topic and give participants the tools and tips to get going with new exercises and as before, in a safe, small, supportive group.
I’ll keep you posted when I’ve created the workshop and what the dates will be @miriamskitchentable, I’m hoping to start in October.
September is such an exciting time for me, that new sense of possibility and changing of seasons – home-made soups and jam, cosy fires and candles; I’m all about the Hygge season!
To beat the uncertainty, I’m forging on, keeping busy and inspired by the wonderful creative community around me and doing what fills me with joy the most, my creative projects – it really is the best medicine in tricky times. Maybe that’s also why I love the seasons so much, they are naturally predictable, certain, always moving through.
Another exciting focus this week will be the next WOW Wednesday, and for those who want to know all about that, I’ve recently updated the page here, we’d love to see you there.
Next week I’ll fill you in on how my bonfire story is received by the group at Read and also what the Vision Board Workshop is like that I’m going to tomorrow, run by @writerstogether – I can’t wait!
I hope that this post has made you think and consider using your own personal experiences to challenge you more in your creative projects, I’d love to hear how you get on in the comments!
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
Ps The main picture is from a dusk walk the other evening, inspired by listening to @tiffany.francis , author of recently published Dark Skies on the In The Moment podcast this week. Nothing like a September sunset to keep you looking on the bright side.
That New Term feeling, on to the next mountain…
September is here! I’m feeling the new term vibe and want to make the most of the last few months of the year. Are you ready too, for the next chapter, mentally and physically?
Pre-note – So I totally failed in getting this out last Monday, because as predicted, the last-minute Welsh Holiday was full-on action! It was great fun, with lots of family memories made and Conwy was a great base to stay but in-between the packed days and the seagull nightclub that seemed to start every night at around 4am on our roof, I think what I’m about to say below will be even more relevant!
We had a great week of adventure in North Wales; Snowdon (hubs and daughter climbed, me and son on train!), underground mine challenge, zip world, walks, beaches and castles…to name but a few – Barley loved it!
Time to get our brains back into gear…..
Anyone else out there feeling a little beat and energy sapped from the Summer School Holidays? If not, I salute you! But I for one, and many other creatives and small business owners I know are sinking a little in overwhelm, trying to keep your ideas and business momentum going whilst trying to keep everybody happy over the holidays is not an easy task! Yet there is only so much you can do in-between the constant nagging / bickering of children and trying to keep the house from looking like it’s been burgled on a daily basis.
But it’s good to know that we are not alone, there is an army of parents out there just trying to keep calm and carry on and now we can see the start of a new term beginning to glow warmly within touching distance, we’re almost there!
I know I’ve been feeling like this, starting to resent the shackles of parenthood (I know I’m being slightly dramatic here and I love them dearly, obviously!) that’s keeping me away from my creative groups and passions and that last push ‘To Do list‘ for the next 3 months that I want to just get down, so I feel like I have a plan!,
I can feel that edginess kicking in, my patience wearing a little thinner at the millions of requests per day of ‘What are we doing today?’ or ‘What can we eat?’ or just simply ‘Muuuuum, he/she’s annoying me!’ – seriously why is everyone permanently hungry?
Plus, I have to admit, as they get older it’s harder to entertain them or prize them off things like X Box and phones, which then means that we are on constant trips out, trying to fill the day!
Since we returned from Mallorca, I feel like I’ve been wading in mud, my legs don’t seem to be working and my brain is most definitely NOT IN GEAR! I can’t work out if it’s a parental fatigue virus or genuinely my head has forgotten how to think deeper and has gone into shut-down!
And I know it’s not just me, my friend Clair has been juggling her business, working at 7am for a few hours, then trying to ‘be present’ with the kids (we all start off the holidays with that ‘ideal’ don’t we?!) Then, she’s sorting the house and working into the evening to try and catch up! It’s crazy!
No-one can keep that up over a whole six weeks without feeling the pressure and like it’s a permanent plate-spin! Yet this is what people who work from home or have their own business have to do to survive the 6-week summer system! Whoever invented that needs a serious talking to!
Even Holly Tucker MBE (of Holly & Co and previously of Not on the High Street) has been feeling the burn, but in a different way – you know that time when you actually stop working and then the adrenaline seeps out of your body and it feels like your battery is well and truly flat?
Well, she posted about it this last week on Instagram @hollytucker and so many others feel the same way too, wondering why they are not bouncing with joy on their long-awaited Summer holiday that they’ve worked so hard for and instead would happily prefer to crawl into bed and just sleep!
Normally I’m buzzing for September, and in many ways, I am, not least to go to the supermarket a lot less but I also feel like my body needs to catch up with what my head wants to do and I’m feeling anxious and frustrated because it’s not!
The energy required to get my ideas flowing and get some serious planning work done is just not there, no matter how many lattes I consume. Part of me is feeling like I’m heading into procrastination territory, which is my least favourite state of mind and another part is gradually putting things in place, so all is not completely lost.
I’m trying to focus on this positive bit, that I am making moves towards getting my butt back in gear, albeit annoyingly slowly and without completely realising it – I’m trying to recognise that as a good thing and that I’m not completely flailing around in goo.
So, what have I been doing to encourage some self-motivation and get back into the right frame of mind? Maybe these small things can encourage you and prompt some ideas for a re-boot too?
- Trying something new, that is both creative and planning related – I’ve booked in with some fellow Instagramers that have recently changed direction and are offering some new workshops, to help you focus. I’ll be taking part in the Vision Board Workshop, run by @writerstogether on the 10th of September in the hope that doing something visible will help me hone in on the key things I want to get done by the end of this year (as I think this is how I work best). I’ll tell you all about this in a future blog post.
- I’ve booked on for a free half-hour coaching session with Gabrielle Treanor – she offered some free sessions last week to work on one thing in September, so I snapped up the opportunity – I worked with Gabrielle briefly last year as a case study when she was training and she really helped me with achieving my word-count goal so I’m hoping she can help steer me a little again. Being accountable really works for me, it’s that people pleasing thing!
- I’ve just found out about a great new challenge from Ruth Poundwhite, a business coach and mentor whom I follow regularly on Instagram and listen to her podcast – Creatively Human. Upon returning to her 3rd podcast season launched this week, she’s also launched a ‘Back to Business Challenge’, which she says is all about gently getting you back into the swing of things after Summer and free up your time and energy too AND it won’t require loads of time or reading, but will lead to some powerful realisations and, hopefully, actions – which all sounds pretty perfect to me and as it’s free, so what have we got to lose (click on the link in her instagram profile @ruthpoundwhite if you’re interested in joining in too.)
- I’m making sure I keep inspired, not only will I be returning to my writing and art groups and generally just getting back into the swing of things but I’m also going to one of my favourite events – Staithes Art Festival next weekend. I went for the first time last year, it’s an amazing collection of artists, all exhibiting in local cottages in the tiny picturesque coastal village of Staithes. Not only did I come away with a much-loved piece of art for my office but also photos that I then used as references to paint. See here for more info if you’d like to check it out for yourself.
My painting of Staithes village and the piece of artwork I bought, called ‘The Habbit’ – a cross between a rabbit and a hare that I love and now sits in my office.
- As usual I’ve been taking a lot of new photos over the Summer, for my Instagram accounts such as @soothedbynature, a whole heap of nature treasures that only come out to play in Summer and many images taken on holiday too. I’m always looking for that unusual angle or view point, enjoying the challenge of capturing something different to my normal walking routine. I’ve already found some favourites that I want to recreate as a painting and transform into greeting cards
- I’ve set myself some deadlines, the first being to have a stall for my cards at a friend’s local charity event and also to book myself in for the next slot for the Yorkshire Writer’s Lunch Blog – I find I work better with a few self-imposed deadlines.
- I’ve been carrying on with reading inspiration, this holiday I’ve been reading The Holiday by T.M Logan, an intriguing story of four best friends from Uni going on holiday with their families to a villa to try and recapture their close relationships and of course it ends up being much more complicated and entwined than that. Nothing inspires me more in my novel writing than reading great new Summer debuts, because one day, that could be me.
- Finally, a friend who now lives in Australia came over here this Summer to look after her poorly Dad who sadly passed away a few weeks ago. She was tasked with emptying the family home and putting it up for sale which involved a lot of sorting out. She came across many art books, brand new paints, materials and a beautiful ink Italic set in a wooden box – all of which she has gifted to me (which almost made me cry). She wanted to make sure she gave them to someone who would really appreciate them and make good use of them – you can’t get a much better incentive than that to crack on with some new artwork.
I’ll keep you posted on how the above help me over the coming months. I feel like I’ve achieved more than I’d hoped over the first part of the year, which is maybe why I now feel unsettled as I came to a grinding halt for the Summer holidays as family life took over. I’d gotten used to the creative momentum, the knock-on effects of a stream of ideas and opportunities and I’ve realised it’s that pattern that gives me the energy and excitement to continue and when that’s paused it’s a little harder to get going again, a little fear of the unknown I suppose.
But I will, and especially with creative like-minds around me and the WOW Wednesday gang, which by the way will start again on Wednesday the 11th of September if you’d like to come along (9.30am at Miriam’s Kitchen Table, Kirkburton).
Do let me know how you get going again and motivated with your creative projects / business, after a relaxing / refereeing Summer in the comments below…
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
Keep on reading, if you want to write
Hello everyone! I’ve just returned from our family Summer holiday and it was a big one – 13 family members all under one roof to celebrate a 50th and a 16th birthday! It’s been four years since it was my mum’s 70th and we all went away for that, so it’s been a while. I’m more used to the relative quiet of a family of 4 so it took a little adjustment to get used to the noise level and different generations!
However, there was also lots of singing, drinking, dancing, eating, swimming, and screaming laughter at the various competitions and races – the lilo one especially, don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time!!
Last night pool party lilo pile-on!!
The villa itself was stunning, only a few years old, stylish and modern, yet quiet and nestled in farmland in-between Inca, San Pablo and Alcúdia in Mallorca, with a lovely outside eating area, large pool with a jacuzzi corner, football and volleyball pitch and most important for me, a hammock – now that was pure luxury for me!
Eden Son Frare, our gorgeous villa in Inca and chilling in the hammock!
As you know, a big part of holidays for me is reading, the joyous hours and hours of it whilst baking in the sun, only pausing for the odd ice-pop or Desperado (finally found a beer I like!), and oh yeah lunch, although I could easily forget that when I’m in so deep.
I could get used to this!
Usually my summer holiday coincides perfectly with one of my favourite author’s release date of their new book, and this year was no exception, Lisa Jewell’s new book, The Family Upstairs came out on the 8th of August and I couldn’t wait to dive in!
The book of the Summer for me, just brilliant!
Lisa is a gem of an experienced author, has been writing since 1999 following her debut of Ralph’s Party and now has 17 books under her belt. She’s one of the few authors that changed track from her original women’s fiction books to what she’s now better known for, writing psychological thrillers.
I loved her books before, but the change to this style even more so and what has always been central to her success, in my view, is her rich, fulfilling characters that draw you into her books, because you can’t help but care about them or want to know more about what makes them tick – even the bad / evil ones.
As a writer myself, I not only enjoy her books as a ‘normal’ reader, and I get addicted to the story becoming fully immersed just like other readers but for me it’s also like an invaluable, free lesson in how to write amazing books and create intriguing personalities, with real true depth.
So, this is what I want to talk about this week; how keeping up with reading can inspire your writing and why it is so important in you quest to become a writer, whether that be published or not – I’ve yet to find a writer how doesn’t want to produce their ‘best’ work and reading can really help.
So, here are my reasons of why I find it so important and a much-valued assistant to my writing;
1. Seeing books on shelves, new titles popping up on my kindle and that anticipation of one of my favourite author’s book coming out, re-kindles my love of reading, other than writing and art, nothing switches my mind off more than getting stuck deep into a story and quite frankly it’s the only thing that gets me to sleep.
Being passionate for a new story is what it’s all about for us as writers, it’s what makes us give chase in the first place.
2. Reading offers up that the dream is possible, yes of course not everyone gets published, and not everyone wants to be, but for us chasing that dream, there is proof that it is possible, in the palm of our hands, amongst the pages, because others have done it.
As writers, most of us are too scared to even call ourselves that, so we need every extra dose of self-belief we can get, others have gone before us and climbed that ‘route to published author’ mountain, maybe we can too.
3. It opens you up to a huge array of style, vocabulary, ideas, plotting, genres….to name but a few and the best way to learn this is by soaking it up in a story that you are much more likely to remember than in a ‘how to write’ book.
What you read is a great lesson and as a writer you are more likely to read it as one, taking note without even realising as you go along of what works, what jars a little, what delights and surprises you and ultimately keeps you turning the pages.
4. It give’s you a great insight into characterisation and the techniques authors use to make you feel a certain way about them, and that might not always be good versus bad, it’s the little personality traits, or quirks that helps us to identify with characters, warm to them and makes us care what happens in their journey. It’s an incredible skill to have and one worth learning about to help you create the many levels, back-stories, and mannerisms characters can have.
5. It teaches you about story arcs, where the drama happens, which parts are helpful, quieter back-stories or hints of what’s to come – how do they build the crescendo to keep you hungry for more?
For me a major part is the ending – it doesn’t have to be what I expect but it needs to be realistic and plausible, otherwise it can quickly descend from an amazing book, to an ok book, and who wants to be just ok?
6. It can give you good audience insight, especially if you are part of a book club or social media community talking about it. Did others feel the same way as you did about the story? What other things did they enjoy different to you? Who were their favourite characters?
How readers react emotionally to stories is a powerful thing, if people love the book, they are likely to shout from the rooftops about it – I certainly do, and then they soon become an army of fans, passionate about the story and the experience it’s given them, and wanting to read future titles.
7. This can go one step further – learning how authors build their reader communities is also an important lesson to understand in this new era of how books are promoted. These days you can easily communicate with authors, via social media or at signing events and talks. These can be invaluable for writers, to understand how authors got to where they are now, (clue – it rarely just magically happens, not many have an easy route, they work hard and persevere just like we are doing now).
Again, their stories are inspirational, and many are incredibly forthcoming and helpful in response to questions or just chatting via social media, because they were once where we are now.
Authors often ask questions of readers for research too or ask you to choose a name of a character as part of a competition, or sign you up to emails so you are the first to know of any events they are doing – make sure you take these opportunities to give you an understanding of how all this works so that you are then prepared for this part of the process when you reach that point.
An example of a an Instagram post from Clare Mackintosh who is very engaging on social media
8. Finally, reading can help just relax you from a hard days writing, or you may even find the solution to a problem in your writing via the story you are reading – how the author tackled a certain aspect that could be useful to you. It could even be as simple as just an alternative word that describes something better that you could use too.
Plus, if you’re anything like me that finds it hard to stop your brain whirring with more ideas, it might just help you get a better night’s sleep, so what’s not to love? The key of course is finding those great books that will keep you coming back for more and with billions of titles to choose from, that is probably the hardest part.
Many writing advisories suggest reading widely, stretching the genres you normally go for, I’m not very good at that part, I tend to go for what I know I will love, but I do occasionally try alternatives and it does make me appreciate different styles when I do.
On that note, here is my list of what I’ve read this year (I’m not a mega speedy reader by the way!), in preference order, just in-case you are looking for some reading inspiration – but remember the genre I generally go for are psychological thrillers, although not all of these are.
1.The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewel
2.Where the Forest Meets the stars – Glendy Vanderah
3.Ordinary people – Diana Evans
4.After the end – Clare Mackintosh
5.The Rumour – Lesley Kara
6.Before I let you go – Kelly Rimmer
7.Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty
8.Do not disturb – Claire Douglas
9.The last thing she told me – Linda Green
10.Then she vanishes – Claire Douglas (not quite finished yet)
The next book I want to read is The Holiday by T.M Logan as it’s about 3 families staying in a villa with a twist, kind of like we just did! Sounds right up my street!
I hope this helps you with your writing journey. After reading Lisa’s book, I’m certainly back on a mission with my own and as always, I have that new term feeling for September…but first we’re having a weeks’ trip to North Wales with the dog before we all have to get back into the school/swim routine.
Hopefully I’ll be able to write a blog post for next week, unless I get stuck up Snowdon or lost in the underground caves! Something tells me this holiday will not involve me lounging around in a hammock!
So, happy reading and do let me know how reading helps your writing and your favourites this year, I’m always on the look-out for great books!
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
P.s Don’t forget to share your summer adventures via #mycurioussummer on Instagram and also follow my Instagram page @mycuriouscreativeclub for frequent tips about creativity or things I think you’ll find useful of interesting
Savouring the Summer slow-down and a little reflection
This week I’ve realised that despite being on school summer holidays, I’m still managing to carve out some creative time and find moments of inspiration too, in-between the shouts of ‘Mum, what’s for lunch?! and Mum, what are we doing today and Mum can I have my 50th ice-cream of the day?’
I’m enjoying the slightly slower pace and no deadlines of getting out of bed (apart from swim mornings of course). It’s been a time for reflection too, on all kinds of things.
It’s making me re-think the story I tell myself of being crazy-busy, spinning all the plates is good and equals me being more productive, I think that may be a big fat lie!
I have been busy with the kids during the day, but not as rushed and it’s made me appreciate the time that I do have on an evening, when my daughter’s at swimming training, to focus on what I need to get done. Plus of course my fellow WOW Wednesday members also help to keep me on track.
Amazing time at Britain’s Got Talent Champion of Champions and the beautiful highland cattle at Emley Show
The awesome gardens, grounds and inside the house at Chatsworth provide new photographic opportunities.
So, in-between family trips to; Britain’s Got Talent Champion of Champions (we got free audience tickets via Applause.com) at Wembley Arena, Chatsworth House on the way back, The Lion King at the cinema (amazing, I cried lots!) and Emley Show, I managed to get some word-count down on the book, teach myself how to draw certain flowers, launch #mycurioussummer ,take some good new nature pics for @soothedbynature and run another WOW Wednesday meeting.
The meeting was brilliant yet again, despite being fewer people there as many members are on holiday and we put the world to rights, talked through and celebrated our wins and shared both struggles and some hilarious stories.
During the meeting we also talked about reflection, some members reflect regularly, others feel like they need to do it more. I realise I do write lists and reflect on ‘action’, i.e what I do or what we’ve done as a family, but I rarely dig deeper and note down how ‘I feel’, I generally battle on through stuff and I’ve realised I might actually benefit from acknowledging this more rather than bottling it all up and forging ahead.
Plus, guess what, it was an excuse for another type of journal, the bonus being that I got it free on my Waterstones points! Win!
I also had one full-on procrastination evening, when I should have been writing and instead decided that I’d make a big list of all what had gone on this year so far in terms of The Curious Creative Club and just life in general.
It’s been a full on crazy and somewhat unpredictable year so far in just 7 months and I didn’t want to forget it all by the time I normally do this at the end of the year.
Reflecting was interesting though and made me feel proud of what I’ve achieved so far this year with this website and all the other things I’ve been doing. It’s easy to forget everything when you are in the thick of it, so it’s important to pause and take stock now and again.
And in doing so, it makes you think about what’s next on the horizon, what you would still like to do and set new goals for the final 3 months of the year. I can feel a new excitement brewing, that sense I get when it’s the pre-new term of September and so my naturally enquiring mind has been researching without me even knowing it:
I’ve listened to some great podcasts: Ruth Poundwhite has been doing a great project in July called The Everyday Difference where she’s interviewed lots of creatives and inspiring people which she has sent through on a daily email as part of the project to people who have signed up. As part of this she’s also done some podcasts with some of her interviewees as well as her usual solo episodes where she always delivers good practical advice. I can highly recommend listening to her podcast ‘Creatively Human’.
I’ve bought some new books: So firstly, I got ‘10 Step Drawing Flowers’ by Mary Woodin along with some new colouring pencils and a small drawing pad which was a complete impulse buy after a stressful argument with my teenage daughter! But now I’m glad I bought it, because it’s such an easy book to use and do some simple, small drawing exercises when I’m out and about.
Next I finally got a copy of ‘Company of one’ by Paul Jarvis which I’ve wanted for a while as it’s often recommended by lots of people I follow and is all about how staying small can be really good for your business and offers a different kind of growth. I really think this is going to be my kind of book as the testimonial on the front from Carl Newport says; ‘A must read for any entrepreneur who prioritises a rich-life over riches’ which certainly resonates with the life I want to lead. This will be one of my reads on holiday along with my new fiction read, ‘The Family Upstairs’ by Lisa Jewell (one of my favourite authors) which I can’t wait to get stuck into too.
Finally, I’ve started researching about mentoring / coaching prospects again, this keeps coming up for me and I can see me getting to it one day! I think it’s because it’s another way of helping people and working one to one, I think it’s possible to make even more of a difference. This may go on my list for next year but in the meantime, I got some great advice below.
I discovered Nicola from @alifemoreinspired via @ruthpoundwhite interview on her podcast ‘Creatively Human’ . I realised we shared a lot of experience and so I reached out and asked her thoughts on training and experience required to become a creative coach or mentor, which is what she does now.
Nicola was lovely and after I told her a bit about my background and what I’ve been doing this year, she came back and said ‘Your experience is enough. Seriously with all the things you do and have done, you are in a position to help people.’
Just Nicola saying that made me feel so much more confident which is crazy isn’t it that we don’t necessarily think that about ourselves?
I’m so grateful that she responded to my questions this week and once again it just proves that the connections I keep making on this journey are so valuable, inspiring and key to moving forward, gaining confidence or looking at things differently.
So, that’s all for this week, I hope it’s given you food for thought on working a little differently, a little slower but still effective and inspired you to reflect on all your achievements so far this year – I bet it will be a bigger list than you anticipated and that deserves a summer cocktail at the very least!
Also, don’t forget to keep letting me know about your adventures, big or small via the #mycurioussummer on Instagram and I’ll share my favourites each week – I’d also be really grateful if you would share this via your Instagram stories so that we really get this going, together, thank you.
Next week I’ll be on a big family holiday (13 of us!) in a Mallorcan villa, I’m not sure if it will be that restful but it will certainly be interesting, so after 32 blog posts this year completed (this in itself surprises me!) I’m taking one week off (plenty to read whilst I’m gone!).
I hope you are all enjoying your Summer holidays and I’ll be back in 2 weeks with some more creative revelations! (I hope!).
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
P.s Psychologies Magazine have now begun their Eco Awards that I’m part of, reviewing Eco products as part of a panel of 25. It’s a great way of finding out about everyday greener beauty and health products, so check it out via the September edition of the magazine or online at psychologies.co.uk/real-eco
They’ve also started sending out subscription issues plastic free! Yeah!!
Wanted! – Your Curious Adventures Captured
New photography project announcement!
Hi Everyone, well it’s been the craziest of Summers so far weather-wise hasn’t it?! In the last week I watched a lightening show at 3am dance across our hall landing, on Thursday, the hotest day of the year in the UK, we nearly cooked and died taking the very unwise decision to do a family bike ride, because the lake was shut due to green algae – we’d wanted to hire a pedalo! And then today I got pelted with rain on my dog walk but I actually quite enjoyed the cooler temperature – us Brits are never happy are we?
Anyway, since writing the photography Blog a few posts back, I’ve been floating an idea in my head to do a photography hashtag project over the Summer, wherever you may live, in the hope that we can all share what we’ve gotten up to.
I’m going to call it My Curious Summer, to give it a fairly wide remit but ultimately I want you to share your adventures, whatever they may be, from a simple walk somewhere different to your usual place to the holiday of a lifetime and everything in-between.
Be curious, try different ways of capturing images and don’t forget the kids can join in too, just reference it as their image on your account if they don’t have an account of their own.
The photos don’t need to be edited ‘perfect’ Instagram shots either, they can be just snippets of every-day life, it’s all about just being curious and sharing what you discover and obviously be as creative as you like.
Below are some more ideas of what to capture to help you join in:
- The day you got lost on a car journey, only to discover a lovely new place or view
- Your toddler leading you to a new caterpillar he/she has discovered in the garden
- A new restaurant that you’ve tried with your partner that made the evening because the food was delicious / atmosphere fantastic
- Camping for the first time
- Reading a book / magazine that taught you something new or you enjoyed something different about it
- Visiting a new place with your family /friends e.g a castle, a harbour, a concert or show
- Joining in on a new creative class / workshop
- Trying Lobster or something more unusual to what you normally eat for the first time
- Trying something new for a holiday, eg hiring a campervan and driving without a plan
- A memory box / family treasure you’d forgotten about and found in a loft clear-out
- Cloud-gazing and spotting something unusual in the pattern of clouds
- Something new that you’ve discovered about yourself
These are just a few ideas, I’m sure you’ll have many more!
So please join in and just remember when you post to just add #mycurioussummer in your hashtags.
Each week I’ll choose my 4 favourites of the week and showcase your pictures and accounts in a post.
So, I’ll be announcing the project on my Instagram Account on Monday morning as I’m doing something a little different over the next few days myself ; we’ve managed to get tickets to be in the audience of Britain’s Got Talent Champion of Champions programme on Sunday night, so it’s a quick trip to London for us for a few days!
#mycurioussummer will then begin on the 1st of August and run until Monday the 2nd of September, and at the end I’ll pick my absolute favourite photo and there may even be a little prize, which I’ll work out later!
I really hope that you join in and have fun with it! I’m so excited to see what great photos you share!
This is your opportunity to show your Curious Creative side, which is what The Curious Creative Club is all about.
Good Luck and have fun!
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
Ps I really hope I’m hitting the right note with creative content that you enjoy and inspires you too, please do put your thoughts in the comments, so I can learn along with you on our creative journey! Thank you
The most inspiring evening – Holly Tucker interviews Mark Constantine for her Podcast Live
If you’ve been reading my Blog for a while, you’ll know by now that I am a huge fan of Holly Tucker’s podcast ‘Conversations of Inspiration.’
Holly Tucker MBE founded ‘Not on the Highstreet’ 13 years ago and is now the UK Ambassador to Creative Small Businesses. She also runs Holly &Co – her own business that not only sells unique products and is a community workspace and café, but is also an enigmatic force for the good in terms of supporting small business and start-ups.
Her aim is to empower people to start up their own businesses, to love what they do, do what they love and cheer-lead them along the way.
Her and her team shine a light on the remarkable creatives, small business owners and Artisans who are the backbone of our societies and encourage customers to change their buying behaviour by supporting local independents more. So, as a fellow creative and supporter of small businesses – what’s not to love?
Miriam and Clair pose by the event sign and just look at that huge organ – great venue!
And then of course there is the Podcast, where she interviews some incredible founders of businesses, such as this powerful list of entrepreneurs: Ella Mills of Deliciously Ella, Jo Malone, Emily Coxhead of The Happy News, Wilfred Emmanuel, founder of The Black Farmer, Freddie Garland of Freddie’s Flowers, Illustrator Veronica Dearly, Joanne Hawker of March Meet the Maker, Ash Bishop, founder of the Brilliant Signs Company, The Body Coach – Joe Wicks, Chrissie Rucker of the White Company, Alex Monroe Jewellery and the Levi Roots founder of Reggae Reggae Sauce, to name but a few.
With growing number of listeners, it’s not just me who loves this podcast. So, when I saw that she was doing some live recording events, and one in Manchester, I jumped at the opportunity and took fellow fans Clair and Miriam with me!
When I booked the tickets, I didn’t know who the conversation would be with. We later found out it was with Mark Constantine, founder of LUSH!
The evening itself was everything I expected it to be and more, held at the beautiful Venue of Manchester Cathedral and decorated with huge colourful quotes taken from the podcast interviews, a Ginspiration bar, pop-up shop and Holly’s giant motto ‘Love what you do, Do what you love.’ lit up on the stage.
Once we’d settled into our seats (with a large Gin!) we discovered our goodie bags, a lovely tote bag, chipotle sauce and Lush goodies as well as a postcard to enter for 100 minutes mentoring with Holly.
The evening then began with an energetic performance by a fabulous choir of ‘Ain’t no mountain high enough’ before Holly came on in a flurry of colourful kaftan, welcomed us to the evening and proceeded to give us her top tips for starting a business, wise words which we all drank in !
Here are just a few of Holly’s top tips and what resonated with me:
- Anyone can be an entrepreneur; everyone has a unique talent to turn into a business.
- Purpose is the fuel on this journey through life – you need a bigger reason than yourself or money. Being socially responsible is key.
- No such thing as work/life balance – it’s just life – build your bricks together – create the scaffolding for your business and family dreams, together, to then create ‘your good life’.
- Failure brings about the greatest success – failure shows you the way by showing you what isn’t the way! Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Next up was Holly’s guest Mark Constantine. I had no idea of his story and didn’t know that much about LUSH to be honest, so I listened intently to his story of how LUSH came about and how he’d built resilience and a slightly rebellious streak due to a challenging up-bringing.
To give you a very brief run down, Mark had a difficult childhood, with a Stepdad who would be physically abusive towards him, so by age 16, Mark left the family home and became homeless.
He got a job working in a barbers but it didn’t pay enough to cover accommodation as well as food and clothes. He learned about hair and starting to make products in his humble flat which he then showed to his friend Anita Roddick, who of course founded The Body Shop. She was impressed and he was soon supplying products to the Body Shop and training up the staff on the products.
Eventually Anita became ill and sold to retail giant Loreal to make back some money they were already losing on a partnership with a local business man, much to Mark’s dismay, he couldn’t understand why she would sell out to what he believed to be an unethical company and they had numerous fights about it, but at that point Mark didn’t know she was ill. He now sites his lowest point being when she died, despite a sometimes-rocky relationship, they were good friends and she had a huge impact on his life.
Mark then went on to start ‘Cosmetics to Go’ a mail order beauty and cosmetics company, they were hugely successful, but the mailing costs and packaging too high and eventually the company went bust, leaving him with just 200k. By this point he was married to Mo and had 3 children to support, but rather than play it safe and pay debts and mortgages off, he bought another property (that unfortunately he then had to re-sell as part of it was tumbling into the sea!) and then with just 40k started LUSH.
At this point there was a bit of an intake of breath in wonderment from the audience! What astounded us all was the bravery of that decision, the willingness to take huge risks and believe in yourself so much that you make what could easily have been a disastrous decision – to me it seems that once you’ve had that low point of being homeless or losing so much money, Mark decided to just go for it, because he knew from his past experience that he’d survived those dark times – he was incredibly inspiring and it really hit home to me to take more risk and think big – because otherwise you’ll never know just how far you can go if you’re not tested?
Yes, the stakes are higher, but so could the rewards potentially be.
LUSH is now a huge business with 928 stores worldwide and is constantly reinventing and innovating, the latest vision is Naked Lush – stores where products have no packaging at all, and you use your phone to scan and identify what it is!
Great natural products and customer experience is at the centre of its business model, as is supporting charities and social projects and making sure the staff are fully involved in the company, with part-ownership and huge enthusiasm for all things LUSH.
The final part of the story was also incredible, his close friend Jeff did a family tree for Mark for his 60th birthday and unbeknown to him, he’d found his father, who had walked out when Mark was really young, still alive, and based in South Africa, which he let Mark know….by text!
Mark wasted no time and took his family on a plane as soon as he could which turned out to be a good decision. He met his dad and showed him a scent he’d created that reminded him of his dad, he called it ‘Dear John’ and his dad loved it.
That smoky, coffee, comforting scent is even more poignant now because he sadly died just 6 weeks after he met him. Thankfully Mark got to meet two half-sisters and at the funeral he sat in-between them, thankful to have finally met his dad and his new siblings.
It was a really emotional ending to the story he brought to us that night and then he read out the finale part to all Holly’s podcast Interviews – a letter to his younger self, which again was an incredibly humbling letter given the journey he’d been on.
Here are a few of Mark’s comments that really hit home:
- ‘Fear is the enemy to entrepreneurship.’
- ‘Don’t sell half your business to the dodgey business man down the road.’
- ‘Why wouldn’t businesses try and be a force for good in the world?’
- ‘I’d like to think the high street shop experience can restore your faith in humans.’
- If you believe something is fundamentally wrong, then stop doing it (on his experience of stopping using Facebook)
- My most creative years are aged 55-75, where you’ve done all the things you need to do and now you can start doing the things you really want to do
Then followed a closing performance of the choir and a thank you from Holly as well as some local entrepreneurs bravely doing a pitch for their own businesses to the audience
We left feeling thoroughly wowed, exhilarated and re-energised for our own businesses which resulted in little sleep that night and me writing a very long To Do list the next day!
She might be a huge success and an MBE no less but she still responds personally to Instagram comments and is always encouraging and supportive – a woman after my own heart.
My only regret was not getting chance to speak to Holly, she had a queue a mile long and we had a train to catch, but I passed on a card to her assistant and entered the mentoring competition so you never know, I might get some time with her yet, but even if I don’t, I know the podcast will continue to inspire me weekly with it’s encouraging interviews, so if you haven’t listened yet, search ‘Conversations of Inspiration‘ on your podcast provider and give it a try, I know there will be golden nuggets of advice in there that you’ll find incredibly useful and of course the Manchester Live one, where you can hear Mark Constantine’s story first hand, is out today (Monday 22nd July)!
I hope you enjoy it and find it as inspiring as I did, let me know what you think if you do have a listen!
Until next time…
Juliet, The Curious Creative x
Ps slight disclaimer….this is my interpretation of the interview and hopefully I’ve got everything right but please listen to the podcast for the full version!
