Sunday 17 April 2016

Writing is a calling. If you are called, answer.

Writing is a calling. If you are called, answer. 
Everyone is creative, some have just forgotten.
When I started to type my first EVER draft, I felt overwhelmed, but the one thing that kept me going was why? Why did my muse pull me away from art into writing? The only answer that I could find is that I'm meant to be the one to tell this particular tale. I could've kept this fictional world a secret, but through art, I've learned to share. Odd as it may sound, sharing creativity, in various forms, can be quite a learning curb. This is something I've often reflected on because as a child, I hated anyone reading about the world and characters that I created, and later would keep my stories hidden away so that no-one else could read them. I'm not sure why perhaps I was too shy, but more than likely, I assumed that some magic would be gone from the work. Maybe there are many children that shy away in the same manner, and it's why nurturing early creativity in the education system is extremely important. These precious little people of wonder grow into adults with beautifully open minds as long as the right amount of freedom is given enabling them to use their imagination.  
The sentence, 'If you are called, answer' powerfully resonates with me.  There was no purpose for 'A Carpet of Purple Flowers' to be written, no reason beyond my imaginative muse at play, and yet all I wanted to do was tell the story. It moved me, and I fell in love with every part that played over in my mind. Not a day goes by when I do not visit the world or the characters. I wonder once the whole story is told if they will ever leave? I think perhaps not. They will become blurred memories of a place that my muse permitted me a rare glimpse into. I count myself very lucky indeed, and best of all, knowing that a few other people enjoyed the story, too -- magic!

So if you have a fictional world brewing inside you wanting to speak out further than the mind, let it. Write that story down and share it with the world. The people that are meant to read it, will. It doesn't matter how long it takes, just place one word after another and answer that calling. :o) 


Food for thought ~ Creative Future
Let's not stifle creativity with more cuts to arts education. HERE  HERE HERE

The UK’s status as a “global cultural leader” is at risk because it is lagging behind other countries in terms of arts education and government investment in the creative industries.
Patrick Brill, better known as Bob and Roberta Smith, is a contemporary artist whose “slogan” paintings blend the creative and the political.

Your message is that art education is now threatened, not just by government cuts but by an unspoken ideology that suggests art is not really important to a nation’s economic and social wellbeing?

"Yes, and, this is not a new way of thinking. It started in the 80s with Kenneth Baker [education secretary under Margaret Thatcher, 1986-1989], who didn’t want art in his national curriculum but was persuaded that it could be graded accurately not as a voice for self-expression but as a set of skills. I want us to re-engage with that postwar consensus that we need to expand creativity and who gets involved in it."

"I don’t regard myself as a political activist because I’m not as committed as true activists tend to be. I’m just angry about the constant assault on the arts and the destruction of education. I can be a bore on this issue but think its so incredibly important. You can’t stand back as an artist and not engage with it."

"In my book, the arts are not just important in themselves but fundamental to democracy. Kids need to think about ideas. If you teach them self-expression, you are adding to democracy. Why do you think oppressive regimes always try to censor art and lock up artists?"

love and light
Trace
xoxo

2 comments:

Sarah Owen said...

Hi again! :o)

I read recently in 'The Writers Way' (I think) that there's the idea that stories try to find someone to write them. They hang around someone for a while, then if there's no response, in the person not writing it, it goes off in search of someone else until it finds someone who can sense its presence and give it an outlet. I really like that thought and I feel myself like that's how my story came into being.

I absolutely agree about the arts in education. Oddly enough, I was thinking about doing a blog post on whether art is important in life. (I think it is.) It's all to easy for the creative spark in children to be extinguished.

love and hugs,
Sarah xx

jasmoonbutterfly said...

Sorry, I missed this message, Sarah. I like that, feels true. :o) Pondering on that thought for a minute. <3

Oh, I agree. I couldn't function without it. It whisks people away from the systematic thought pattern. Balance is important - I can't imagine a world without creative expression causing imbalance. It brings us all so much beauty and peace, reminding us of what should be important.

Yes, so many children/adults think that they are not creative, but everyone is, just in different ways. Education should really cherish the creatives more than they do. Open the gate to new ways of teaching/thought/delivery. People process life and lessons differently, and until the system takes this on board there will continue to be loss of spark. It's so sad. Even with my own children, I've noticed the decline in art coming home. Music isn't really explored either. The first areas to be cut are usually arts. It's wrong and damaging.

Did you write a blog post?

Love & hugs, Sarah.
xoxo