Well, isn’t this exciting? What do you think of my new site?
It’s fair to say that 2018 has been a busy year. I was lucky enough to be able to quit the day job that was getting me down and concentrate on my flourishing freelance editing business, while spending more time on writing-related activities.
So, I also have an announcement to make. And it is this: fellow Swanwick writer, Bridget Holding, has asked me to be a part of the Wild Words life by setting up the French retreats and liaising with you all via social media.
Since I am in the process of moving to the south of France, not far from where Bridget lives actually, this will hopefully work out very well. Having been on one of Bridget’s Wild Words retreats in 2016, and also having been to some of her workshops, I can honestly say that experiencing Wild Words with Bridget have been some of the defining moments of my writing journey.
Bridget asked me to put together a few words to explain to you what Wild Words is for me. I only hope I can do it justice.
Photo: Peter Reid
Visiting the Wild Words website, you are immediately struck by the number of photographs that have been taken in the outdoors. Whilst it’s true that being in and around nature helps us access our wildness, this is really only the beginning of what it means.
I have found that in my adult life, my conscious mind can become restricted by social conventions if I’m not too careful. While I was still working full-time, it was difficult to commit to my creativity at the end of the day and still have any kind of social life. And when you live alone, as I do, a social life is crucial. I know a lot of you will feel the same, especially if you have young families.
This mental fatigue is one of things that prevents our wildness from surfacing. Our subconscious, on the other hand, has a completely free rein. In my opinion this is why our dreams are sometimes so shocking and revealing to us. (Well, mine can be!)
Somewhere in between these two, there is a place that is inhabited by the wild self. This is the place where our soul really lives. It is the place where we are free to just be, without guilt, without shame, without restrictions and without rules. It’s where our child Self lives; while our parents were trying to teach us right from wrong and we were pushing boundaries to test things out.
The key to wild writing is being able to wander into this place inside the mind at will.
In my experience, being in and around nature helps us to find this place. In my last visit to the south of France I spent a day by the beach. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was just to lie with my eyes closed, feeling the glorious, healing sunshine on my skin and listening to nothing but the waves gently breaking on the shore. Who needs music? This was the perfect soundtrack to serenity.
Luckily I took my notebook along with me, and so I was able to scribble down some thoughts and feelings. Reading it back just a few hours later, I surprised myself with what I had created. Lying on that beach I had found my wild self.
As you read this post, I am probably hidden somewhere in the depths of my spare room, desperately trying not to accidentally wrap myself in packing tape. I can’t wait to move to France, and I very much look forward to meeting with my wild self on much more regular basis.
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