My Creative Everyday

This morning I found myself needing a cat photography fix on Instagram because I was feeling drained. I've planned a photography walk this week as I definitely need it.  As I stare down the barrel of Monday afternoon,  I turned to AI to help me with improving my routine, as it's been a busy few months of work, and I needed some guidance.  First I outlined my situation and my concerns. It was insightful in its advice and I'm interested to see how my week might be more productive or how AI might make a difference to finding balance.  I'd already been thinking about the advice in section 6 over the weekend, and I'm liking having it set out for me.  The second response AI gave was after I agreed for it to sketch a plan for me.  So I'm adding the schedule advice from the second prompt into my calendar and setting myself soft alarms to keep me on track.  Hopefully this will be a positive experiment this week.  Prompt 1 advice -  It makes sense that...

Instinctively we want to hibernate in winter, and our activities change - with more reading, writing, cooking, television, music and cosy nights in.  We're fending off endless coughs and colds by consuming smoothies and soups.  A few tasty treats I've been making are: Chicken & sweet corn soup, Spring rolls, Bread & banana pudding, Peanut butter & banana pudding, Adzuki red beans, Duck pate, Portugese duck rice, Garlic and chive crusts, Fig with salt n pepper squid, Slow cooked duck, and  Banana and nutella spring rolls.  GIlmour Girls is my happy place and I'm mixing it up with American Horror Story and Mad Men . My fascination with Gilmour Girls, which I'm not rewatching has even resulted in a long blog post about it.  I've just finishing reading Crazy Rich Asians which has made me think more about identity, memories and history. I've also dipped into some of Hilary Mantel's short stories and am half way through Butter .  Accepting the wea...

Carole King re-recorded "Where You Lead, I Will Follow" with her daughter Louise Goffin for the Gilmour Girls in 2000. I watched the entire series, feeling the familiarity of her timeless ballad, you've got a friend, without knowing it was Carole King, or that she cameod as the music store owner.  I watched the pop culture phenomenon for the first time over Christmas, aware that it had been a sensation, but never drawn to the show even until several episodes into Season 1.  The Cast  At first I was intrigued, because it had Melissa McCarthy, before she was in Bridesmaids. The grandmother looked familiar and I discovered she was Jennifer Grey's mum in Dirty Dancing.  After awhile Rory Gilmore, the daughter, looked like someone I'd seen and found out Alexis Bledel was Emily in The Handmaid's Tale.  Aside from the cast regulars, the litany of guest appearances and recurring characters featured many stars: Jon Hamn from Mad Men popped up, as did Billy...

The dilemma of persevering with a book as a writer or reader struck me this week. As a writer on more than 50,000 words into a novel, I'm too invested to give up on it. So though I'm excited about a new idea for a novel, I find myself attempting to hang in there.  However, as a reader, I have two new books 30 pages in, and I'm tempted to abandon both.  The first is a recent best seller full of hype. The premise intersted me, but the style and tone is do cold that I am repelled from becoming absorbed by the story. It doesn't feel right for me in the throngs of December and Christmas.  The second is a historical drama from a vest selling and well regarded author. I've read one of her books, a long time ago. I'm bored, simply not engaging with the content and style.  Book 1 is 400 pages long. Book 2 is 600 pages. Perhaps it's the length, or I'm daunted by the task of completing them.  Sometimes it takes a while to get into a book, for me to find a rhythm an...

What has writing this book taught you?  So much. First of all, how people like my writing and want to read my stories, so it felt important to start putting them out into the world. It’s taught me to trust my instincts in terms of the plot, not to plan at the outset and let the story take me where it needs to go. It’s taught me I’m comfortable writing in this genre. The writing flows naturally for me in this genre and it offers me the freedom to explore what truly fascinates me about humans, relationships and the world. There’s opportunity for me to utilise all those little observations I’ve soaked up over a lifetime. How have you grown as a writer compared to ten years ago?  Ten years ago, I was busy writing plays. I’d just written and co-produced a 4-part WW1 musical and was researching a full-length play about a historical figure. I was taking my writing seriously and was having success with playwriting but I still felt somewhat frustrated because I’ve always wanted to writ...

"They struggled as caterpillars," I said yesterday. I was handing out butterfly stickers in a creative writing course I ran yesterday.  Unexpectedly there was lots of much needed lovely laughter throughout the day. Since we started these classes, I've noticed how we transform from the beginning of class to the end. Students are happier, and it's wonderful to be a part of that. I really appreciate the feedback, how they feel I've been so kind and also learnt about the craft.  Bringing people into the world of the power of words, the beauty in imagination and the joy of creation! They could all be heroes, time travellers and monster slayers. Anything was possible at the start of the day. I saw magic. What we made, individually and collectively was such fun. It's amazing.  Last year, the last time I ran a class, I felt like a healer and understood what it might be like for doctors.  London is bursting with creativity. That's one of the many things I love abou...

Read the first in a special three part feature on ChatGPT.  After 7 hours of interviews, then months of writing and editing, " Is Generation Z Trying To Save Us From AI? " is out now! The feature begins with: “Woah, slow your roll, we’re not going to take it seriously. We see AI as a new meme opportunity,” Tennessee born MFA student Catherine Sheffield says. I met Catherine at Hay Festival last year when I had the opportunity to attend with Write On! magazine. Catherine introduced me to Imo, who has been involved in training an AI program. The two MFA students brought colour, character and unique perspectives to my understanding of AI.  Also my Insta friends, @dannyvill77 and @356shooter make their debut in the magazine with their photographs.  A huggggeeee thank you to Madeleine White, Claire Buss and Pen To Print. Without Write On! magazine, I would not have dared to embark on this piece.  My family and friends also have been amazing throughout this mammoth project...

  Words have power. The lines of Freddie's songs have become anthems. They have immortalised a man who dared to experiment and challenge existing norms.  As I walked through the exhibition, a recreation of his home, among all his personal belongings, it was a chance to glimpse someone I knew very little about. It deepened my love for his songs and music. It made me realise what a genius he was.  To be honest, I liked the songs, but after the exhibition, I listened to them, connecting to the man behind the lyrics. I began reading one of the biographies. I've watched his concerts, which seem to play more on television these days. There's a renewed interest in Queen and perhaps, like me, Freddie Mercury has found new fans in 2023.   My YouTube series about the exhibition found a vast audience, reaching more than 20,000 views. Music, videos and photography, as a creator and consumer, add so much to my life as a writer. I wanted to make more videos in 2023, and devel...

   Words don't flow. I'm stuck when it comes to writing about grief. My latest book, This Silly Bench , circles around the subject, referring to memorial benches and the sensation of wandering, numbness and struggling to grapple with emotions. I've tried to face the spiral, to not be overcome by tears, but even after all these years, it returns in waves, dragging me back in time, like a Taylor Swift song, I am young again, and unable to comprehend, turning it over like a restless pebble. I try again and again, always wondering if my efforts are futile and there is never an end to it, this thing,  grief . It is not so intolerable any more, but it still hurts.  I came upon a wonderful writer, Liz Carthy, who  used metaphor to describe her pain. It articulates some of what I have gone through, though I often feel like it is not for me to speak about because it wasn't my child that died, it was someone else's and it is as if there is something not quite right for me...

@mycreativeeveryday on TikTok Yesterday I posted about What is the fuss over ChatGPT, the AI Chatbot? I encountered an error message and gave up, but today I thought I would give it another go. I discovered how to create new streams of chats and how to look at my archive of questions. I still encountered the error message and had problems, but I managed to work around it and not get stuck.  This second attempt to understand how ChatGPT can be a useful tool was definitely more fruitful. This morning I entered maybe two dozen questions on different topics. I felt that the most helpful were those around TikTok, which I am trying to learn more about this year.  So far I have more than 200 followers on TikTok and recently I have started posting a few times a week. In fact, I posted a new video this morning which you can check out here . It is a series of three photographs of white swans on the London Thames River foreshore. The cool thing about experimenting with TikTok is that it ...