Z.R. Southcombe's Blog, page 9

You’re never happy, are you?

After one of my book launches, a friend asked if I was happy with how it went. I must’ve given an unconvincing yes because she said:

You’re never happy, are you?

I thought about it and realised she was right. Not because there wasn’t a big turn-out, or there were few sales; not because my speech sucked or the books didn’t look great – just because it’s in my nature to put on Black Hat Thinking. 

The Six Thinking Hats are a concept I came across in teaching, developed by psychologist Edward de Bono. Each hat colour represents a different way of thinking. Red, for example, encourages us to consider our feelings and intuition; white tells us to look at the facts.

Black is critical thinking. What could be better? What are the flaws?

I’m self reflective and analytical. Black Hat thinking is easy for me. And it’s there for a reason: so we can make improvements; challenge ourselves  to do better than our best.

Black Hat thinking means that I look back over an event, a book, an artwork, or a blog post and think about what I could do better nexttime. It keeps me growing and improving and pushing myself further on.

This is good. I wouldn’t want to be any other way. But. My friend’s comment made me realise that while I like my reflective, where’s-the-next-mountain self, I also need to take more time to celebrate and express gratitude; to be happy.

Last year, I started putting this into practice. It took effort but it was worth it. I feel like I’ve slipped behind a bit lately, so I’m reminding myself by sharing it with you.

So while I still look for what could be better, I also remember the highlights. You’ll hear about the highlights of my latest launch in my next vlog – keep your eyes out for it

I Am A Writer – learning from my contributors (Part I)

One of the benefits of picking the brains of awesome people for your book is, well, picking the brains of awesome people! As they share their advice and experience with children, I learn a lot from them, too.

Some of my biggest learnings from the draft of I Am A Writer at the moment are coming from a place of gratitude, and creating manageable projects.

Gratitude

One of the writers in this book is Helen Tau’au Filisi. I met Helen through a mutual friend, and it was through my self-published books that she was encouraged to publish her own books. She says, “I never dreamed that writers would be able to self-publish… Now I’m able to make choices about the type of books that I want to publish, their covers and also the layout of the books. It is a creative process that I greatly appreciate.”

Recently, I was listening to a podcast about nature, diversity and happiness. They discussed how when we have luxury or ‘treats’ often, they become part of our baseline – they don’t feel like a treat anymore. I think that somewhere along the line this has happened with my creative work. I have forgotten to be grateful for the privilege of making art – the space, the energy, the income, the support from friends and family.

Also, I find that when I come from a place of gratitude, I’m also coming from a place of enthusiasm and excitement. These are wonderful ingredients for creative making!

Manageable Projects

Both Izak and Becky (from Izak Smells) talk about having manageable projects. Like their three-comics-a-week webcomic site. But the lightbulb moment for me was when Izak said: “Every now and again we compile our favourites into books… This is possibly the easiest way to make books. We just push ahead in bite-sized, manageable chunks until there’s so many of them that they turn into a book all by themselves.”

Mind. Blown. Possibly the best advice I’ll get all year.

“I Am A Writer” will be launched on Saturday the 18th of February, 2017 at Meow Cafe in Wellington.

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Week two's vlog – happiness through nature

This week I look at the book The Sun Rises (click here to view) by Amanda Staley. Sub-titled Using Nature as a Foundation for Happy Living, this book has reflections, meditations, and photographs encouraging a simpler way of life, and an understanding of what ‘happiness’ might mean for us.

Because it’s different for all of us, and that’s something worth remembering.

A Simpler Way – tiny changes to move forward in our world

I have a vlog that is waiting to be edited and published, but in the interim I want to bring your attention to a documentary which EVERYONE should watch.

Yes, everyone.

It’s about a small group of people who have committed to living directly off the land, in community. They’re buildng their own (tiny) houses with primarily reclaimed materials, and pretty much living waste-free.

I’m not ready to make the sort of change this group has made. Not nearly. But what I love about this doco is that it shows a way forward. It’s not doom and gloom, it’s a feasible solution.

The other thing I like is that there are things we can apply to our own lives. Perhaps we aren’t prepared for radical change – but maybe we can start a vege garden, eat less meat, recycle instead of throwing away, trade our services, buy local… seriously, just watch the doco.

And then make one (tiny) change.

I support fellow artists and inspire young creatives. Support me. Donate.

I write, paint, draw & make zines. Shop here.

I visit schools, blog, vlog, teach, and participate in festivals. Subscribe.

Starting a weekly vlog & a background to 'I Am A Writer'

So I’m trying to get a weekly vlog going, for a couple of reasons.

One is that video is not really my thing and I’m trying to challenge myself.

Two is that this year is flexible for me in terms of my creative output and the media/formats I will use. I’m not sure what my journey as an artist / creator is going to look like, so creating weekly vlogs will be a way to reflect and try to join the dots in hindsight.

Three (and probably most important) is that video is a fantastic way to really connect with each other across the interweb.

I support fellow artists and inspire young creatives. Support me. Donate.

I write, paint, draw & make zines. Shop here.

I visit schools, blog, vlog, teach, and participate in festivals. Subscribe.

2017: Projects, not goals.

This year (or technically, next year) I’m doing my goals a little bit differently. For the past three years, I’ve set up publishing objectives and schedules. These have been based on the bigger picture of becoming a full-time author. I’ve had spreadsheets and timelines and while it did help me do a lot in a short amount of time, it didn’t allow enough for celebration or changing my mind.

Cause I do change my mind. A lot. The big picture has changed, so the goals need to as well. New ideas, new experiences, improving my skills, mindset shifts… these things happen. And they should happen. But fixed goals and fluid experience do not go hand in hand!

I believe in experimentation, because if we don’t try things how can we possibly know if it resonates with us? 2016 has been trying to teach me that this is okay. I think it has also been trying to teach me that we all contribute the most when we are wholly ourselves; when we are in our element.

My fiction is experimental, my art is experimental, and I have delighted in the experimental nature of zines and paper dying. Why not embrace this, instead of trying beat it into line?

So the big picture has changed from ‘full-time author’ to just being the best version of me that I can; permission to let go.

My projects are:

Year one of my post-grad dip in counselling.
A picture book The Train to Nowhere  that has been waiting for my attention for FOUR YEARS.
More (wo)manpower – and MANpower – zines. Spotlight on the New Zealand Arts (SONZA) running regularly.
The third annual NZ Young Writers’ Anthology.
The first annual Indie Annual .
More non-fiction about writing and art, starting with Where Do Ideas Come From? And I am a Writer. 
More crazy stories in my fiction world.
Zines! I’m letting these be whatever they want to.
Art. Ditto as per zines.

 

 

What’s something you’re looking forward to doing in 2017?

 

The Freedom of Writing Non-Fiction / Making Art for Me

Last week I held a stall at the Oratia Markets with my mum. There was a wonderfully creative group of people, and one of them (a visual artist) and I started talking about art, and art careers, and art education.

Her son’s an artist too, and she said that he’d become disillusioned with, and cynical of, the art world (which can be easy to do, unfortunately).

But there is a happy ending – when we make art for ourselves first, that is when it is successful.

When I started writing, I wanted my stories to be something that a younger version of myself would have loved, and that’s what I kept in mind as I was writing The Caretaker of Imagination, and Lucy’s Story. It wasn’t about following the rules or taking genre guidelines into account.

But when I started drafting the third book, Beyond the End of the World, I also started thinking more about what I should (and shouldn’t) be doing.

My writer-friend Cassie (J.C. Hart) labels these “should-isms”. They should be avoided, squashed, or otherwise destroyed.

You may have noticed that I’ve taken a HUGE break from my fiction. My last release was in June 2016, and I didn’t make much of a deal about it. I then got about a third of the way into a new draft, and put it aside.

I decided to take a break from it because I wasn’t happy, and I didn’t know why. I didn’t want to know why, I just wanted it to be okay again. While I was letting those feelings settle, I worked on non-fiction instead (I’m pretty good at avoidance strategy). For some time, I’d wanted to do a sort of memoir about my ‘journey’. This morphed into an art course, which morphed into an art book.

I am an Artist was born, and it has become something I am incredibly proud of. It is inspiring, encouraging, down to earth, and practical.

I’m now working on I am a Writer and a small non-fiction series about writing, starting with Where Do Ideas Come From?  These books are specifically for other people. They come from the things that I get asked at school visits and by my non-writer friends.

Having these books that are written for others frees up space for me to write my fiction just for me.

Now I can treat my fiction-writing the way I treat my art-making: it doesn’t actually matter what other people think about it, as long as it tangibilises the emotional blueprint I have planned for it. The people who resonate with the ideas in my writing will love it, and the people who don’t will find other things that they do resonate with.

And that’s totally okay.

What lessons have you learnt about writing? Do you write just for you, or for a specific audience?

You can purchase my work from Felt or Etsy.

Broken/Beautiful & I am an Artist: Book launch & exhibition

The exhibition and book launch was a wonderful event! There were so many positive people in one place, it was hard not to feel happy, loved, and important.

Thank you.

Here are a few photos from the night for those of you who couldn’t make it.

Artworks can be viewed here and the book can be bought on the website shop or Felt.

Broken/Beautiful & I am an Artist: Book launch & exhibition

The exhibition and book launch was a wonderful event! There were so many positive people in one place, it was hard not to feel happy, loved, and important.

Thank you.

Here are a few photos from the night for those of you who couldn’t make it.

Artworks can be viewed here and the book can be bought on the website shop or Felt.

Reflections on 2016

It’s officially December. That means I only have a couple of days left to manically run around and get stuff completed for the exhibition / book launch (info here) and I’ve been thinking lots about what I want 2017 to look like.

This year has been good. I’m in a much healthier place, and I feel (mostly) good about my work. My identity  is solidifying, I’m more physically active, I’m eating better, and I’m generally happier. My mindfulness practice is improving, and I’m making great strides in knowing what is worth pursuing and what I need to say no to.

On the less positive side, I haven’t made as many sales as last year because I took some time ‘off’ and I haven’t published much. Upon reflection, I’ve realised that was due to a lack of belief in my own work – it is really hard to feel motivated when you think your work sucks. So, I’ve spent the past week or so ‘decluttering’ some of those negative beliefs. 

It’s not an overnight process but noticing is the first step