Writing prompt- Looking in & Listening
Thoughts, tips and creative writing on the themes of looking in and listening
Hi everyone,
This newsletter is a late one. I’m sorry. I don’t like having gaps that begin to collect dust. I have been looking for new work whilst working, and it has swallowed my time. I’ve been trying to do too much all at once. I also don’t want to put something out there for the sake of it. I want each newsletter to have meaning, resonate with readers and to feel like there is some value in it for you.
This week’s theme- Looking in & Listening
Looking in
This newsletter and its writing prompt revolves around the themes of looking in and listening. The premise with the first is simple. I mainly work from home and so my home environment has had to be my inspiration for the past few months. I work in the kitchen with a big window facing out to the back’s of other flats. Looking in derives from observing the live’s of others at their window, from my window. And the feeling that we are all so connected, (I could have a conversation with my neighbours from my window quite easily, though of course, I have no idea who they are) and yet so isolated from one another. These ideas are the basis for the following poem.
The prompt here I think is; observation, introspection and boredom.
Windows
Brown considered conserved brick
the houses sit
encased and laced in a wilderness of trees.
windows look back at me
but all too often with no person in frame
their insides seeming empty
hollowed insides
inside hollowed days
But then,
The sight of the neighbour sipping soup
another neighbour on a call
wearing her head-set as if staging a call
The builders working outside in the bright yellow light
puffs of smoke as passing clouds from their lungs
the cold yellow winter
The neighbour tidying
pulling her sofa’s throw into
its nooks and narrow passages
making it tight and anew
Bed sheets twisted in thick heaves
laying in their crumpled stillness
The neighbour’s little white dog
scurrying along the green grass
like lost cotton carried by a breeze
its owner shushing it
But mostly,
it’s the growing garden before me
trees bent sideways
branches shooting upwards
long dangling branches
vines crawling over fences
leaves like confetti
A bustling garden of life and activity
against the hollowed windows
where the people live
in flashes of existence
I wish the windows would tell me more.
But as it is,
the bereft windows
overlook the complexity
of the growing garden.
and with a likeness
the garden possess a stillness
its activity hidden underground
the neighbouring activity amongst the walls
Our living connectedness
between these brown considered bricks
and the wilderness of trees,
we all live,
behind our windows in our folds of only what we know.
Listening
I listen to a bunch of podcasts, one of which is In Writing with Hattie Crisell (it’s great), and I was reminded of why making a profession of your writing is hard, why so many of us struggle to be creatively successful and reasons why the former is true.
I’m not directly quoting her, but it's pretty close.
It isn’t about being the best, it's about putting the work in. It’s 30% talent and 70% effort. The fact that I am so late on this newsletter is evidence of that itself. I have never been great at finishing things and I imagine I will always be somewhat inclined this way. Nothing just happens- we have to make it happen. Ideas are great but it's about the perseverance following this and making something out of these ideas. And therein lies why fewer of us carve an idea into something real and tangible.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t like it, just get it down. We all work differently. If you write, you are likely to be familiar with overthinking ideas, rewriting over ideas (perhaps erasing initial ideas), stopping and starting, etc. And it helps to be a perfectionist when it comes to writing, but not to the point of inactivity. Let’s just get it down and go from there. The process of creativity is meant to be messy.
There's a difference between writing and wanting to become a writer- this had the loudest reverberation for me. I have been expecting over many years that at some point I will be published. In relation to the first thought, how much have I really done to make this happen? Nowhere near enough. O’Farrell commented that as long as you are writing it may happen. (Equally, it may not) Rather than trying to be a writer, keep writing and with a concoction of perseverance, good writing and luck- it could happen. Pursue whatever makes you happy, add interesting experiences to your life and continue to learn and hone in on your craft. Writing is notoriously difficult so whilst you might be trying to become a writer, make sure you’re doing plenty else in the meantime.
In other news; Art:
These watercolours are part of a collection I am currently building. I will be selling these at the start of the new year. Each one is completely unique. Some drawings have been inspired by a still-life I have created at home, and others are just imaginations.
If you like them and think you might want a small collection done, get in touch and let me know!
Next to paint are these gorgeous candles:
Thank you for reading my newsletter today. If you think others would like my newsletter, I would be so happy if you could share it.
Hope you’ve all managed to have a good day, if not- tomorrow is a chance to do things differently.
Thank you for reading. I am Emma and I publish writing tips and prompts on my website. I am an IELTS tutor and tutor for conversational English.