‘Mostly, we authors must repeat ourselves- that’s the truth.’ F. Scott Fitzgerald
With the sad passing of David Bowie last week, I, along with
the rest of the world couldn’t keep my eyes from the deluge of images of our
unique star in all his vivid guises and characters. So many people commented on
his ability to change from look to look, genre to genre, always reinventing and
never being boring. But Bowie viewed his kaleidoscopic career as something far
simpler than this. Bowie felt he always wrote and sang about the same things -
loneliness, alienation, stardom, identity, sexuality – throughout his career
and that it was these underlining themes that were the common denominator in
his work.
Julia Cameron talks about something she calls ‘the vein of gold’. Her idea is that all artists have topics that obsess them, inspire them, ideas that they can’t help but revisit project after project. Moreover, when they explore the things that fascinate and impel them they are working within their vein of gold. I think Cameron’s theory is so right. It’s the reason Monet made waterlilies his metier. It’s the reason we know that when we pick up a Margaret Atwood book we’ll probably encounter something that will get us to think about a woman’s place in the world. It’s the reason anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider finds solace in the work of Morrissey.
In fact, if you choose any artist you’ll see these patterns. This is an idea that really reverberates with me. I feel that everyone is given a topic or two, a theme they are urged to explore throughout their life and through being creative they somehow find a conclusion to their curiosity. When you look back over things you’ve written it can sometimes feel like you never do anything new, that you’re always getting at the same old thing. Your characters might blend into one. Your plots might be similar. But I think this is a sign your writing about the things you should be. The alternative would be to write about things you think you should be writing about and that wouldn’t be authentic at all. So, stick with the things you want to know about, the things that inspire you and see what happens.
Just as Cameron suggests in her brilliant book make a list of the films, books, songs, television programmes, art works that you love. When you’ve done that think about the topics that you find yourself thinking and talking about. Then make a list of things you love doing. Look at your lists once you’ve done this and see if you can see correlations – do your favourite films share similarities with your favourite reading topics? I’ve found the things that really resonate with me and pique my curiosity are the things that end up in my stories. It was a real ‘a-ha’ moment for me when I began seeing the echoes across my writing. Two of my themes included sibling dynamics and characters who are somehow unable to deal with the societies they find themselves in.
Give this a go and see if you can see any patterns in your own work. I’d love to hear if you make any discoveries.
Julia Cameron talks about something she calls ‘the vein of gold’. Her idea is that all artists have topics that obsess them, inspire them, ideas that they can’t help but revisit project after project. Moreover, when they explore the things that fascinate and impel them they are working within their vein of gold. I think Cameron’s theory is so right. It’s the reason Monet made waterlilies his metier. It’s the reason we know that when we pick up a Margaret Atwood book we’ll probably encounter something that will get us to think about a woman’s place in the world. It’s the reason anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider finds solace in the work of Morrissey.
In fact, if you choose any artist you’ll see these patterns. This is an idea that really reverberates with me. I feel that everyone is given a topic or two, a theme they are urged to explore throughout their life and through being creative they somehow find a conclusion to their curiosity. When you look back over things you’ve written it can sometimes feel like you never do anything new, that you’re always getting at the same old thing. Your characters might blend into one. Your plots might be similar. But I think this is a sign your writing about the things you should be. The alternative would be to write about things you think you should be writing about and that wouldn’t be authentic at all. So, stick with the things you want to know about, the things that inspire you and see what happens.
Just as Cameron suggests in her brilliant book make a list of the films, books, songs, television programmes, art works that you love. When you’ve done that think about the topics that you find yourself thinking and talking about. Then make a list of things you love doing. Look at your lists once you’ve done this and see if you can see correlations – do your favourite films share similarities with your favourite reading topics? I’ve found the things that really resonate with me and pique my curiosity are the things that end up in my stories. It was a real ‘a-ha’ moment for me when I began seeing the echoes across my writing. Two of my themes included sibling dynamics and characters who are somehow unable to deal with the societies they find themselves in.
Give this a go and see if you can see any patterns in your own work. I’d love to hear if you make any discoveries.
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