Welcome to Writing Talk
The joy of the blank page, and the importance of fungus.
I’m creating this piece, my first ever post on Substack, in real time, without any planning. Good old flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants writing. Not to show off, but to illustrate a point that came to me as soon as I sat down - that this post is just another great opportunity to fill a blank page. Yeah, you read that right, I said ‘opportunity’. Not problem, not difficulty, not an stress-inducing moment of panic. No, an opportunity.
It’s my belief that the blank page is not a desert, but a sandpit. A place we can be playful, push ideas around and make mistakes, without consequences. It’s the place for those of us who write because we can’t NOT write.
And what a privilege, really, this all is. To make something out of nothing and put it into the world. Sure, we can talk (and will) about success, rejection, the publishing industry and its often blinkered gatekeepers, the pain of deadlines, the stress of trying to fit creativity around whatever grind-of-life bullshit you have to put up with.
But every time, you sit down and look at a blank page, everything is possible. New worlds, new ideas, new characters, new places, new themes, new chances to create a better piece of writing than last time. And even if you are convinced you have lost the ability to create, that you are blocked, that everything you produce is a rancid stream of word-vomit, the truth remains that a blank page is an opportunity.
Sure you might need to edit heavily, you might need to almost completely rework it, but I bet, if you really look hard enough, you can find at least one tiny nugget that is worth working on.
You might be asking what’s the point of all this rambling in relation to launching Writing Talk? I guess it is about demonstrating what I want to do with this Substack - chat to and with about aspects of writing and creativity that occur to me as I go through the ups and downs of being what someone once called ‘a critically-acclaimed but not famous or best-selling writer’.
I have learned that connecting with others, as a writer, is vital. Especially if you are like me, with an over-reliance on being self-reliant, a nature that keeps you on the edge of things, and an aversion to leaning into to the support of others. It’s akin to that popular idea of trees in a forest, connected to each other through underground fungal networks, that allow them to share water and nutrients through the networks.
So what can you expect from Writing Talk? Well, I’m going to develop things as I go along depending on what subscribers ask for, but I’m planning a mix of free and paid content including:
General musings and ideas on creative and the writing life and some thought pieces about issues such as success, rejection, the publishing industry and working class writing. From me and from guest writers.
Regular opportunities bulletins for funding, info about markets and competitions, courses/workshops with discounted places. These will be for everyone, but particularly for working class and other marginalised writers.
Recommended reads - posts about some great short stories, novellas and flash fiction to read.
Some interesting, stimulating writing exercises and craft content, as well as Study Stories to unpick and explore (because being a better reader helps you be a better writer and editor).
A monthly Write Together - an online collaborative write in with a fun warm-up exercise before and quick discussion after.
It’s going to take time and effort to keep this going, so I’d really appreciate the help if you can pay to subscribe or become a founding member, with access to further support and content.