Mary Richert – in her first Internet video ever – talks about some of her favourite books. In these pages she finds a lot of encouragement and inspiration. I really want to emphasise three points Mary makes in this video.

Everybody struggles. This was a fact that I needed to be reminded of today. [I saw a "Quitting smoking is hard" ad earlier and a part of me scoffed and said, "Really? You should try writing a novel some time, buddy!"] It can really help your perspective to realise that even the people you admire have struggled. It really helps me to come back to John A. Keel talking about the Blank Page and to realise even Annie Lennox has moments of great doubt.

If you want to be creative you have to have input. Quite removed from the romantic notion of the artist as an aloof loner, the truth is creativity is enriched by collecting experiences and ideas. Julia Cameron talks in terms of filling the artist’s well. Australia playwright Michael Gow suggested that when you use your imagination you literally empty your mind. This is a resource that can be depleted. As an artist you need to acknowledge that and work to rectify it.

Sometimes it’s hard to see the big picture. Mary’s work is predominantly in the field of creative non-fiction. Sometimes it is hard to make sense of history while it is happening, especially if it is happening to you. This was something I found working on a memoir project. I was always secretly waiting for a point in my personal life that would lend itself to a satisfactory conclusion for the work. What I concluded was that it was difficult to understand the moment you’re having while you’re having it.

I want to take this opportunity to really applaud Mary on her first video. I’ve been making online videos for several years now and I think a lot of people sit back and think that it is such an easy thing to do. I have very distinct memories early on of being completely unnerved by the prospect and just staring into the lens of the camera, hoping desperately for something intelligent to come from my mouth. I hope she makes more! It is a wonderful extension to the great work she does on her blog.

Related Posts:

• Sometimes I Take Inspiration From Nature
• Dream By Example
• John Cogan: Ideas Are Everywhere!
• Teen Angst Journals
• Go Big or GTFO – But Just Keep Going!

You may remember that I recently wrote about the things I wanted for Christmas. One of those was the JVC Picsio video camera. Well I have a wonderful story to share with you about that…

I was looking at the camera in a local electronics store. It was beautiful. I knew I wanted it. I also knew that I couldn’t justify the expense. (For the last two years I’ve voluntarily taken leave from the work force to devote time to creative endeavours. This has enriched me spiritually, but left my bank balance in a terrible way.) I took a brochure about the camera away with me. Eventually I went online to find out more about the camera.

I discovered much to my delight that JVC Australia were running the Share A Moment competition. They were giving away one of the cameras every day until Christmas. I went through the archives looking for something worthy of the competition and I discovered some old footage of Koalas at a local animal park…

I had intended to ask everybody I knew to vote for my video. However I misunderstood so much about the contest. I asked a bunch of YouTube friends to vote for the video and they did. I had intended to launch a full blown campaign but before I could do that I discovered quite by sheer dumb luck that I had won their daily prize for the day I uploaded the video. I was completely blown away!

Today the camera arrived in my mailbox.

Winning the camera was truly wonderful and I look forward to using it. But what really touched me was how responsive and supportive people I knew via the Internet – often people I had not met ‘face to face’ – were towards me and my efforts. And I think that is probably what I am most grateful for, to be surrounded by people who are creative and supportive of other people’s creativity. I am grateful that I have access to a technology like the Internet where I can publish my work and share my thoughts and have access to libraries of great materials.

I’ve read many “gift ideas for artists” type articles in the past week and it only really reaffirmed for me the importance of the less tangible gifts. Things like support and encouragement. They don’t cost anything, particularly, not in monetary terms, and yet they are invaluable. Just a line or two can make all the difference. “I believe in you” or “You should keep going” or “I think you have talent.”

But tools like the JVC Piscsio are, of course, quite helpful too…

Related Posts:

• All I Want For Christmas
• Video Syndication
• The Family That Creates Together
• Congratulations; You’re Doing It!
• Sometimes I Take Inspiration From Nature

I was having something of an anxiety attack about my lofty aspirations and future. I decided rather than fret all day, I’d share some sage advice with you. This comes from Mur Lafferty, author and podcast producer of many books (including Playing For Keeps), columnist, and host of the writing podcast I Should Be Writing. There are several really good writing podcasts available (and I will endeavour to feature some of them on this blog in the future), but none of them embody the sheer single minded focus of I Should Be Writing.

The truth is it is perfectly wonderful to hear about what authors are doing. It can be interesting to hear about other people’s creative processes and pitfalls. It can even be useful to listen to specific writing instruction. The power of I Should Be Writing is that ‘wannabe’ writers are consistently delivered back to their own hands.

Mur Lafferty (they call her “Mighty” Mur for a reason):

But something else has been occuring to me. When you’re a parent you look at this little bundle of potential and you think, I want everything for you. I want you to have the chance to do anything you want. I want you to be the first woman on the moon, I want you to be the first person on Mars. I want you to be an inventor or president or a star basketball player or a football player or whatever you want for your kid. You look at them and think, you tell them, you can do it. And if they say, “No, I’m a girl, girls don’t do that” or “I’m too short to play basketball,” you know, you can pull up. Here’s Amelia Earhart. Here’s Muggsy Bogues – he was 5’3 and he played in the NBA. You want to tell your kid that they can do anything.

But if your kid knows that your dream is to be a writer and you’re not following that, then why the hell should they believe you when you say you can do anything you want to do? Because this is me guys, this is me telling you. I don’t care if you’re 15, if you’re 40, if you’re 80 – you can be anything you want to be. And if you want to be a writer, then be a writer. And remember that your kids are watching you and they learn from you. And if you have a dream, and you tell your kid that you have a dream, then follow it and that will give them the courage. They’ll understand.

I should be dreaming, and you should too. Fuck the nahsayers.

Related Posts:

• Mary Richert on Struggle, Inputs and Inspiration
• When No One Cares…
• All I Want For Christmas
• John Cogan: Ideas Are Everywhere!
• Sometimes I Take Inspiration From Nature