Recently I responded to a post from NUA (Norwich University of the Arts) about life drawing resuming in the Munnings studio. NUA is where I studied for my Writing the Visual MA for two years, investigating visual art, creative writing, and critical culture.
The resumption of drawing in an art institution might not surprise you, indeed you may expect it, but until recently it was controversial. Drawing had been out of favour for some time and this discipline was seen as outdated and wholly unnecessary for a career in art and design. It got quite heated, the notion that a life model drawing class might be found in the building was often dismissed and derided. I am delighted to see that it has returned, because what always bothered me was how students would learn to look and to see? Because whatever discipline you develop the first key skill an artist requires is visual.

Drawing at Colchester School of Art, where I began my creative career with an art foundation course, was taken seriously. I was taught by some of the best the Art Foundation was then two years, and we moved between disciplines, from sculpture and painting, to pottery, textiles, graphics, jewellery, and industrial design. Central to all of this was our instruction in looking and seeing, through drawing. Life classes were two evenings a week and outdoor drawing one morning a week. I feel privileged to have been taught by some exceptional tutors (Richard Bawden, Phillip Ardizonne, Brian Knight, and Richard Godfrey.) Life and outdoor drawing were considered essential disciplines with a lot of time devoted to them. I am fortunate in having been taught to draw, but also how to look and how to see. Drawing itself is a fascinating gestural, visual, and interpretive process that combines, body, brain, eye, and aesthetic. 
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That close observation and critical questioning has remained in my practice as a writer. Trained to apply intense visual scrutiny to my subject it has encouraged me to become a visual and psychological archaeologist, to look behind the obvious closely observing the structure and the veiled, the unsaid and the unwittingly disclosed. Writing requires all the senses, hearing is important, patterns and rhythms of speech also matter, it is the complexity of writing that fascinates and intrigues me, and it is the visual that is my starting point.​ 

Here in rural north Norfolk the fields have lots of bouncing, biffing, bonkers hares in them, wonderful creatures that chase around and beat each other up in a mock fight reminiscent of the one between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones Diary, a lot of flailing and not much real damage. 

I caught an interesting BBC Radio 4 item called Shock Waves (you can get it online). It is about how artists and writers respond to something as shocking as the pandemic. Interesting to me, because I have found that, while I have had thoughts and ideas where the pandemic features, I have not yet felt ready to form them into a narrative. It seems I am not alone; it's going to take time to process. It also features an author who was well into her pandemic novel when the real one hit and found she had to abandon it. I love hearing creatives talk about process. It also concluded that another reason is that creatives, generally freelance and fiscally abandoned by the Chancellor have been in survival mode and that, dear reader, is stressful, exhausting, and time consuming.

As concentration is apt to be shot to pieces in these Covid times, apart from decluttering your attic, you might like to dip into some short fiction (as you know I am a huge reader of and writer of short stories). So here are some recommendations, 2 short and 2 memoirs. 

'Some Days Are Better Than Ours.' by Barbara Byar. Published by Reflex Press.
'Salt Slow' by Julia Armfield. Published by Picador.
'Notes to Self.' by Emilie Pine. Published by Penguin. Memoir/essays with high praise from just about everyone/everywhere including Anne Enright and Book of the Year 2018 Irish Book Awards.
'I Am I Am I Am.' By (one of my favourite authors) Maggie O'Farrell. Published by Tinder Press.

You may not recognise The Reflex Press, this is because they are a small indie publisher and doubtless have a website and online shop, please drop your Amazon habit for a moment and buy direct, it makes a huge difference to the publishers and to writers if you purchase either directly from them or from a small independent bookstore like The Book Hive in Norwich who will post them to you. Similarly, Salt Publishers from Cromer Norfolk, have a great website, wonderful writers, and post books promptly.

Blimy it's already February! I used to consider February the longest and cruelest month, despite its being only 28 or 29 days. In recent years I have softened as I've discovered it isn't always grey on grey with a sulking sky just hovering above my head, no, sometimes it can come through with a few days of sunshine that give the promise of spring just waiting to get the go-ahead. Yesterday I managed to complete and submit my end of year accounts to the Inland Revenue and to spruce up my system of recording income and expenses, meaning I can get ahead of myself and get 2020-2021 completed for April 5th (that'll be a first.)  It is, of course a bi-product of the Covid lockdowns because, like most freelancers, there is precious little income to show for the last trading year, although most fixed bills have to be paid despite the lack of business.

For me the lockdowns have been really busy, teaching on Zoom, mentoring and planning a way out of this mess. I lost all my data in a computer incident which left me truamatised. I have taken the opportunity to re-organize my computer files and I am trying to get on top of the endless paperwork that somehow infiltrates several rooms in the cottage. Part of the trouble is because I cut out numerous, reviews and snippets from newspapers, magazines and journals, along with items I think would/should interest my children and there are ideas written down in whatever notepad, envelope or folder that comes to hand. Then there is other peoples stuff. Grown up offspring living in tiny flats or rooms don't have room for their stuff. More sadly, there are the deceased whose own collections of files and papers now fill my study.

​I am also filling in countless literature based applications to progress my career in one way or another and they hungrily eat my time, each one requires the same information but in a wildly differing format, so they are really tricky. I am though walking more frequently, because it's pretty much all we're allowed to do and walking is great for writers, ideas come when you walk. I've already thought about re-writing a short story that could be longer or a novella. I have a few more admin tasks to complete and then it's down to writing again, the thing I love the most and which helps me forget about glum, grey February. I am also eagerly looking forward to the time when we are allowed out to play again! The meadow will come into its own for big social picnics and pot luck suppers with bunting and lanterns.

I have a reading recommendation. As you know I love short fiction, which is perfect for a time when a lot of you are struggling with concentration and memory issues. Short stories are the perfect read for these odd Covid times.  I have just read 'Dinosaurs on Other Planets' by Danielle McLaughlin, published by John Murray. I often purchase short fiction I see well reviewed and this collection has rightly garnered much praise. If you want to revel in beautifully constructed sentences and a bit of lock-down vocabulary stretching this collection is for you. Below are a couple of examples.

'Maddened, the blue bottles looped like spitfires.'
'...the ditch that separated their property from the farm next door brittle-grassed and silver.' 

I am delighted to have been a winner in the West Sussex Mind short story competition chose by the  judge and author Rosanna Ley. Coming on top of my earlier shortlisting in the 2020 Bridport Prize, this is a great boost in a glum year.

 This is the last chance to see this amazing and inspiring exhibition which closes at 4pm on Dec 5th - do go. Scroll down for the poster with details.

I am delighted to announce that I have been shortlisted in the 2020 Bridport Prize short story competition by the judge Nell Leyshon. This is the third time that I have been shortlisted for this prestigious award and coming in the top 100 short stories in an international prize with over 4,400 entries ( the top 2% or so I'm told) is a real boost. 

There are very few spaces left on my forthcoming workshop at the Groundwork Gallery, Kings Lynn  www.groundwork.com
This is a fabulous exhibition, really inspiring and we will spend the day working from close observation and leaning how to craft a multi-layered fiction.
see the flyer below for more information and go to their website for booking.

It's National Poetry Day and here is a link to the wonderful Cafe Writers competition  
http://www.cafewriters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Cafe-Writers-Competition-2020.pdf
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