Hello there. I’m Charlotte Wood, author of seven novels and three books of non-fiction (including my new novel, Stone Yard Devotional and 2021’s The Luminous Solution: Creativity, Resilience & the Inner Life). Recently I’ve grown more and more interested in doing ‘less’ rather than ‘more’ in my work and my life - going deeper and more quietly rather than bigger or faster. I’m interested in how ‘subtracting’ some things - approaches, expectations, tasks, obligations, methods - and replacing them with others (or nothing at all) can recharge my creative work and enrich my life.
I’m perennially interested in talking about the different ways artists go about their business. I’ve produced a podcast of interviews with artists, two books about writing and making, and an award-winning PhD thesis on the cognitive processes of creativity. Over the years I’ve found that playing with new (to me) technology and new formats gives me a buzz and energises my writing life.
Hence: SUBTRACTION! My new monthly newsletter about the creative process will explore one concept each post, experiment with removing or replacing it, and observe how the work might change as a result. I’ll also share what I’ve been seeing, reading, listening to, cooking, doing, writing and thinking about. SUBTRACTION will be a very loosey-goosey experiment in itself - one I hope will revitalise my own creative work and life while doing the same for yours.
It won’t be free (a little more than the price of a coffee a month) but I promise I’ll try to make it worth your dosh. I’m giving this experiment a year, starting late January 2024*.
I’d love you to join me. Stay tuned!
Warm wishes
Charlotte
*until then I’ll be playing around with Substack and figuring out how to use it so I’ll be grateful for your forbearance with technical and other blunders…
It sounds fascinating! It reminds me of the way the brain develops by "pruning" off pathways to give dominance to others. It also sounds like giving yourself permission to cast off some obligatory activities. We can, after all, only do so much.
I definitely think playing with new ideas, formats - anything that expands to outside of your familiar zones - will enhance the cognitive processes of creativity. I'm not an artist or writer but I love Ralph Ammer's amazing animations. They are lessons in life and often change the very way I think! Fantastic, right?!
Is it cool to post links on here? I'm new at substack too and struggle with navigating in here. I'll give it a go. https://ralphammer.com/writing/
Thank you, Charlotte - a beautiful and important recalibration for the year ahead!