On Tuesday night, we held our final Creative Questions. As always, it was a joy to hang out with some of the brilliant subscribers here, who always give as much excellent advice as they request. But - getting real here - CQ is by far the least popular element of this newsletter, and it's time to retire it gracefully. I think, in truth, we've answered most of the questions you'll ever need now. Below is an indexed compendium of all the recordings from the previous year.
My greatest thanks of course go to
If you're feeling a little bereft at the loss of CQ, can I recommend these excellent alternatives:
Daisy Buchanan's Creative Confidence Clinic just gives the most wise, compassionate advice to writers' queries.
Caroline O'Donahue writes Book Alchemy, giving such generous support to writers.
George Saunders' Story Club focuses on the art of the short story.
He's on hiatus at the moment, but Jon Ronson's Nonfiction Storytelling offers deep dives into is craft, and I am here for that because I adore his work.
There are many others! Please recommend any you love in the comments.
But for now, do enjoy Tuesday's final Creative Questions. We talk about:
• The trials, tribulations and inspriations of being a writer on social media.
• Drawing on music and visual art to inspire writing.
• What do with your journal if you hate journalling.
• How to know when your work in progress requires a massive change.
They were all great questions! Thanks to everyone who's over the past couple of years. We've loved answering them.
Here’s a clip from our conversation, with the full recording after the paywall.
Creative Questions compendium
Is creativity a scarce commodity or is it more ‘use it or lose it’?
Should you push yourself to keep going when you’re feeling burned out with a creative practice?
Should you modify your voice in order to appeal to a wider audience?
How to get the most out of your first writing retreat
How many notebooks is too many
What has helped our writing grow the most.
How to write about the domestic sphere without it feeling stale
When to start calling yourself a writer - and when to give up the day job
How to navigate difficult family relationships in memoir
How to build an audience if your writing is quite niche
What play means to us.
Avoiding distractions while working on a laptop
The quest for the perfect writing chair
Switching between writing projects
When it’s too soon to write a memoir (but keep a detailed journal instead).
How important is it to make time to think?
What is the relationship between rest, space, creativity and time?
How do you balance being a writer with social media?
How do you find time to write when you have a full-time job?
Are readers and publishers put off by memoir set in the past?
How deranged one can feel at the end of writing a book
Story management methods, from index cards to Scrivener
What it’s like when your partner and friends aren’t interested in your work
The dangers of style guides
The ethics of writing about other people
Structuring time across different projects (in order to try to stay sane).
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