Creative Confidence for Life, Work and Art | Write with us this week (scroll down for calendar)

‘How shall I bear so much happiness?’ asks Jane, when such an ending is finally in sight. It’s a rhetorical question, an achievement in itself given how much of Pride and Prejudice she’s spent being in touch with everyone’s feelings but her own; such a pro at not being disappointed or sad or angry about the actions of her friends and family that Bingley’s friends hadn’t had to work hard at all to convince him she wasn’t interested. 

Being good at hiding emotions is a skill. 

So is smoking. 

So let’s be careful what we get good at. 

Suppressing inconvenient feelings doesn’t make them go away. It does, however, distract our energy away from creating what we want. It at best diverts and at worst cuts off the source of our fuel as writers: what interests us, what moves us, our questions and observations about the world and ourselves, that make up our unique ‘artist’s palette’. 

Why am I talking about this now? 

Because a number of coaching clients and Writers’ Gym members are finding it a lot easier to blame themselves for ‘difficult’ feelings than listen to what those feelings are asking for. What they’re a call to action for, whether that’s writing on the page or creating in life. 

It can be a lot easier to tell ourselves what we ‘should’ feel than listen honestly, let alone build the habit of transcribing some of that truth.

When we train ourselves to become estranged from what we feel – when the muscles we prioritise exercising are the ones for holding back from instead of thinking on the page – we can still be efficient. We can still have neat handwriting. We can still be intelligent and articulate. But we can also start to wonder if we’re being glib, or shallow, or didactic, or notice we’ve taken to preferring exclamation marks or looking up the ‘right’ or ‘best’ word over the vulnerability of emotional depth. 

In a week where the world has provided so many ways of reminding us that anger and sadness and fear can be appropriate responses, we need to be able to honour these real emotions for joy and enthusiasm and passion to be real emotions too. We can’t create the world we want, on the page or off, from a place of denial. 

This week, allow your emotions to be your writing prompts. 

Give them to someone else by all means: mix someone from the colours of your memory, imagination, observations and questions – that unique artist’s palette every writer has (and has every right to). Bring your reality into your characters. Maybe into your developing dialogue, if you’re joining us and Chris Gregory at the Writers’ Gym on Tuesday afternoon for Writing Audio Drama. Fiction matters. It has made us all feel seen, heard, understood. It’s why we read. It’s why we write. It’s why it’s hard and why it’s important.

Instead of telling your feelings they’re a problem, listen for the opportunity. They have something to say. Whatever it is, it’s entirely your story to tell.

Some of our amazing writers and creative confidence builders at Olympic Studios on Friday for Coffee & Creativity. Join me at The Century Club, 28 February 7-8.30pm and Olympic Studios, 7 March, 10-11.30am. 

Come and Write This Week:

The Writing Room | 11am-1pm Monday 10 February 
Free for everyone on my mailing list (if you’re reading this, that’s you!). No expectations, no readings, just an open chat box and ten minutes’ (totally optional) chat together at the end. Click here.

Riverscribes: Fiction and Memoir | 7-8.30pm Monday 10 February
All the inspiration, support and techniques you need to weave initial ideas into fully realised stories. Whether you’re working on a story, novel or non-fiction, want some creative inspiration, or whether you’re intrigued by the idea of writing and want a creative outlet, this is the place to discover and develop your ideas and your voice. Click here.

Writing Audio Drama: Dialogue, Characters and Episodic Writing | 1-2.30pm Tuesday 11 February 
Audio drama has enjoyed a huge growth in popularity over the last few years. Major players are commissioning their own original dramas and there’s never been a better time to create your audio play. With producer and independent supplier to the BBC Chris Gregory, develop the skills to write your drama and the confidence to pitch it. Click here.

Coffee & Creativity | 1-2.30pm Wednesday 12 February 
Quality writing time and excellent company! Grab a coffee and have a mid-week chat, a write and then another chat with your fellow creatives. Free for members: type your discount code where indicated. Click here.

Writing Room EXTRA | 3-5pm Thursday 13 February
Members only: please check Voxer messages.

You don’t have to be a member to join a Writers’ Gym session. Just sign up for any session. But if you’d like to access our weekly programme for free, and receive 30% off all our other events, email thewritersgym@rachelknightley.com or download a brochure at writersgym.com

If you’re not in the UK, find your timezone here.

For Writers’ Gym personal training or creative confidence coaching for life, work and art, email info@rachelknightley.com or visit rachelknightley.com