Ask the Author: Julie Chadwick
Answered Questions (4)
Julie Chadwick
Consistently exercise an ability to think outside the box in all aspects of life.
Julie Chadwick
Being able to escape.
Julie Chadwick
I am still very new as an author and am still anxious about how my book will be received but I don't think there's necessarily any such thing as "aspiring", you just have to do it. Don't give up if what you're producing doesn't seem good, if you have refined taste then whatever you produce will seem sub-par. You have to carry on. I think many people who admire artistic skill or creativity think that it's a "gift" but 90 per cent of the time it really isn't (in my opinion), it's just a lot of determination and hard work. Putting in the hours until the process becomes so second nature that finally the inspiration can flow through unimpeded. Have you looked at Van Gogh's early sketches? They're not very good. He wasn't "born with a gift," per se. He was just certain that's what he wanted to do and be and he painted and painted and painted until he was a master. Only one thing I think would perhaps constitute advice is to build a rich inner world that will serve your writing. I did not go to school or work in my early 20s but rather sought out the most extreme adventure I could, all over the world. And I did it from a place of relative poverty, meaning I had to eat out of dumpsters, live in squats, hop trains, hitchhike and live off my wits. That basis of experience has served me immensely in every way possible. Everyone is different (I am not anti-education of course), but I think I would highly recommend that, for even just a period of time.
Julie Chadwick
I once interviewed Wade Davis, the author, photographer and National Geographic explorer and he clarified something for me that I held close throughout the writing of this book: that creativity is something which follows action, not the other way around. In other words, I have found inspiration comes during the process of writing. As I have only written non-fiction, it can also come from the act of researching. I deeply enjoy researching and can go too far and lose an entire day in the process of trying to source one thing (which may or may not prove to be crucial) but often the way in which I am going to arrange something can some through the research process. I also often dream about how a chapter should begin or end or be arranged, especially if I feel like it's not working and it's bothering me.
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