Welcome back to A Writing Life, our series of monthly articles written by long-time 26 member and contributor Rob Self-Pierson.
Like many of us, Rob straddles the line between commercial and creative writing. Each month, we invite him to share stories from his writing life, reflecting on what it means to live as a writer today.
It’s August, and Rob keeps coming across the same word. He’s reminded of a doodle from years ago, and a belief that will never leave him…
A moment of serendipity. Kipling under Waterloo Bridge…
Early in my career, I captured a thought in a doodle.
It was expressed as ‘Creativity makes the world go round’. I wrote the words in a spiral, as though they were chasing their tail.
I later made a crude digital version of my scribble, and wrote an article exploring the words behind it. Publishing these online, a few people got in touch to say they agreed with my thinking.
One person asked to republish the doodle. I said I’d be thrilled if she did. Not only was I chuffed it would live beyond me, but I liked how her request helped make my point: that in connecting, challenging and compelling us, creativity can make exciting things happen.
Years have now passed. Yet my belief in the potential of good old-fashioned creativity remains. So, I’m buoyed to see and hear the word around me a lot these days. It seems to be everywhere.
It’s because creativity makes the world go round. It’s a superpower. One that reveals new ways forward when we reach a dead end. One that shines a kaleidoscope of colours around us when all seems so monotone. And one that lives within us all, every single day.
When I say creativity makes the ‘world’ go round, I mean our own worlds – as well as the planet. Creativity influences who we are, what we think, and how we live. And language is never far from its aura.
Allow me to demonstrate using real-life examples. Stories of two worlds made to turn and turn again by the creative urge.
1. The girl emboldened by creative writing
During the pandemic, when my niece was 7 and not enjoying her online English lessons with school, I created some workshops for her. I hoped to share with Milly some of my passion for words.
One day together, she wrote and illustrated a book called ‘Ellie in Space’ – the tale of an elephant who ends up in orbit after escaping a policeman dressed as a banana. I was introducing Milly to Chekhov’s gun theory: why inexplicable, random things aren’t really allowed in stories. To test the theory, Milly had to write a story full of wacky, unrelated stuff. Gosh did she have a good time being creative.
We came across the book recently, and Milly (now 12) recollected the fun we’d had creating it. She turned a big corner that day. The girl intimated by words discovered joy in the creativity of writing.
2. The man whose stories helped him cope
Rudyard Kipling lost two of his children during his own lifetime. Josephine, aged 3, died from pneumonia following a journey to the United States – her father was also taken ill and lucky to survive. John Kipling, Rudyard Kipling’s son, was killed in 1915 at the Battle of Loos on the Western Front. He’d not long turned 18 years old.
A lot of people would have crumbled in the face of such loss. Kipling, however, wrote Kim two years after losing young Josephine, then a year later wrote the Just So Stories for his second daughter, Elsie. Plenty more extraordinary stories and poetry would follow.
I learned this from a documentary called ‘A Secret Life’. In it, the narrator speaks of Kipling’s ‘creative resilience’ – how he wrote through torment, helping keep his own world going round.
A new era of celebrating creativity?
I mentioned earlier that I’m seeing and hearing the word ‘creativity’ a lot these days. Perhaps it’s because I’m searching it out. Perhaps I want it to be everywhere, everyone embracing it.
Or perhaps, as we step closer to the precipice of total technological transformation and peer into the space where AI could soon be doing almost all our thinking for us, we really are celebrating the fun and joy, chance and serendipity, reassurance and reward of creativity.
Are you excited to embrace this new era with me? Or simply keen to inspire your own creative urges? Here’s some of what I’ve been seeing, hearing and enjoying this month:
- Art Brut at the Grand Palais, Paris If you’re lucky to visit Paris before September 21st, go to the art brut exhibition. This is creativity in its purest form, art without expectation
- Business of Creativity Recommended to me by designer Neil Tinson, the weekly ‘Bulletin for Big Ideas and Better Business’ is packed with insight, opinion and upcoming events
- Rudyard Kipling: A Secret Life The documentary is a window into the life of an author whose imagination (and creative resilience) will delight readers forevermore
- Dark Angels Notes Each week, the team behind the writing for business workshops emails reflections on a theme. They’re always beating with a creative heart
- Art & Copy At the birth of advertising as we know it today, a few people set the course. This documentary celebrates them, their positive attitudes and their creative brilliance
Together we go
Or perhaps together we turn, our worlds powered by creativity. To feed my creative urges, I’ve pitched a book to a publisher. I’m also assembling writers for a panel discussion I’ll host at Wordstock.
More on all that next month. Before then, I’m curious to know – how does creativity make your world go round?
Onwards,
Rob
If you’d like to share in response, message Rob via Max at 26. Also, find out more about Rob’s studio or connect with him.