setting intentions for 2018 creative writing

Reading & Writing

Posted on by Susan Earlam

Hello!

Despite the title of this post, it isn’t an article about Sesame Street 😉

I want to share my intentions for 2018, I promised I would, and after a happy and restful couple of weeks off, I’m back at it. Only this time from a slightly different angle.

To read and write.

Writing- here on the blog, writing articles for print publications, and creative writing.

Reading- more fiction, and non-fiction and more books in general. Getting lost in words and stories rather than scrolling, and time vanishing via social media.

setting intentions for 2018 creative writing

So how did I get here? And what does it mean?

In the last quarter of 2017, I invested in a course of one-to-one coaching.

I’d reached a point where I had a lot of different ideas about what I wanted to do (with my life!!) and where I wanted to go with this corner of the internet. I was being pulled this way and that way by these ideas of diversifying. Unsure of what the next step should be, hesitating because nothing felt, “right”.

Coaching is a fascinating process, by the way. Bit by bit the layers come away revealing something that, for me, had been there all along.

Shrek explains it perfectly below, like an onion we have layers. The layers of time, of life events, of self-preservation, of responsibilities and obligations. A good coach will help you get to the core of those layers, even beyond them.

Spending time focusing on yourself initially feels self-indulgent. But I soon realised being able to talk completely freely about ideas, dreams, and obstacles with someone who is dedicated to your success, allows you see yourself and your particular situation more clearly.

It’s writing. It’s always been writing.

Along with reading. Rediscovering my appetite for reading over the last six months has felt like a revelation. Putting my phone down and picking up a book is not always the easiest thing, but it is much more fulfilling. The more I do it, the more I want to do it.

Writing has always been there in some form or another, I’m already doing it. I just never saw it as my thing. Maybe I wasn’t ready, or maybe I didn’t have enough “life experience” (I know you don’t need this to write, but maybe I did).

It was there waiting in the wings. From stories I wrote as a seven-year-old, right through to being on my Fine Art degree, writing kept creeping in via typewriters, the act of writing and character building. Heck, even my degree show was a piece of writing.

setting intentions after having creative coaching

In 2018 here on the blog, you can expect more of my home, my personal style, of Manchester, and travel, but I’ll also be sharing this reading and writing journey. And if I’m feeling really brave I might share some of my creative writing too.

I’ve started off the year by joining in with an online wring course, Kickstart Your Creative Heart wish me luck!

What are your intentions for 2018?

And I’m really interested to know if you’ve ever had any coaching or if you do any creative writing. Or are you a real bookworm? Answers below!

Wishing you a happy week 

Photo’s by EmmyLou at Chiascuro

Published by Susan Earlam

Writer of fiction, lifestyle and home interiors

25 thoughts on “Reading & Writing”

  1. This year I promised myself to read as much as possible and write too! My degree was required a lot of writing and therefore I want to continue my further career in writing! Although, long way to go for me as English is not my first language! Wish me luck! xx

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  3. I love the idea of one to one coaching, and it sounds like it’s been such a beneficial process for you. Your online writing course sounds wonderful and wish you all the best in it. Looking forward to following your journey on it too xx

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  4. LOVE this post hun. Sounds like the 121 coaching really gave you a lightbulb moment of where to put your focus – and I can’t wait to read what you write 🙂 Can’t wait to see you on Saturday! xx

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    1. Aw, thanks Karen! Yes it’s almost like fast track, I’d have probably got to this point on my own but it would’ve taken much longer

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  5. Love your revelations 🙂 Oh I used to read so much when I was younger and I simply don’t take the time to do it anymore – I clearly need to put my mobile down more but now I tend to listen to Audiobooks which I’m really enjoying so I suppose that’s something 😉 xxx

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  6. I LIVe this and wish I had taken the time to invest in a life coach in some way. For me it is definitely rediscovering my creative process and also adapting to a new small in the house! The course sounds ace x

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  7. I did some similar soul searching over the past few months and came to almost the same realisation. It’s the stories, I love. Writing little stories based on fact. Taking a simple situation and weaving it in to something special x

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  8. Me too! I read a line in Patti Smith’s Devotion, something along the lines of ‘When you can’t write, read.’

    Gonna get back on the creative writing train (I wrote creatively up to degree level – mainly plays/ screenwriting) then life got in the way a bit. But I’ve always written just in different forms to pay the bills (on the blog/freelance). But time to do more creative stuff. But first, all the books to read!

    Looking forward to hearing more about your year x

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  10. Awesome goals and so pleased the coaching helped you find some clarity and direction. I would love to read more. I read so much before I had kids but I never seem to have time now. But I guess if I spent less time on social media I could find the time. Good luck with your goals.

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