Because Why? (A Love Letter)
Tenets of creativity for where we are now
I wrote extensive notes for this newsletter in my journal the morning after the election, intending to release a mid-week “I’ve Been Thinking About” edition. But I just couldn’t. That day, Wednesday, I couldn’t summon the mental bandwidth to create a coherent essay. I’m not sure I’m yet capable of it, but I’m going to try. And anyway, my thoughts have progressed a bit since then.
The resident three-year-old1 in my multi-generational household is in the infamous why stage, only he’s tweaked it slightly to because why. His response to nearly everything anybody says is, “Because why?” Which makes total sense, seeing as how our answers most often begin with because. 2
A lot of people are asking because why right now. Our charge at the moment is to answer the because why question, given the earthquake that has just occurred in our country. How do we move forward? How do we live now?
In a letter to a morose beloved client this morning, I wrote “Writing is what we do, what we love. We can’t let them take that away from us.” And I believe that with all my heart and soul. Writing—creativity—is what we have, what we love, what we do, what will save us. But you probably know that. And you might still be despairing. Feeling sludgy and uninspired. Perhaps even asking the dreaded questions: Why bother? What use is it now? What bother writing and creating at a time like this?
In answer to that, I have come up with my own because why list. I’m calling it Because Why: Tenets of Creativity in Times Like This. Here it is:
—Because I want to be curious, not fearful.
—Because I want my mind to be open and not closed.
—Because I want to create more and consume less.
—Because I want to be playful, not dogged.
—Because I want to hold space, not clog it up.
—Because I want connection, not detachment.
—Because I want to love, not hate.
—Because I want to create, not destroy.
My will to follow these tenets and live this way will likely be sorely tested in the months to come and I’ll fail as often as I succeed. But I believe, despite the popular quote from Yoda saying, “Do or not do, there is no try,” that trying is half the battle. And sometimes it’s the best we can do.
The following is no doubt going to be an unpopular opinion, but I also want to be able to use these concepts to understand the “other.” I’m not there yet, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get there. But I can keep trying.
That’s as much as my current mental bandwidth allows me at the moment. But I leave you with some quotes I’ve seen in my travels this week. They inspired me and I hope they inspire you, too.
“We will always be the president of our own minds.” Pam Grout, repeating something she heard recently.
"In times of destruction, create something.” - Maxine Hong Kingston
“I am staring out of the window in an extremely dark mood, feeling helpless. Then a friend, a fellow artist, calls... he asks, ‘How are you?' and instead of ‘Oh, fine... and you?', I blurt out the truth: ‘Not well. Not only am I depressed, I can’t seem to work, to write; it’s as though I am paralyzed, unable to write anything... I’ve never felt this way before…' I am about to explain with further detail when he interrupts, shouting: ‘No! No, no, no! This is precisely the time when artists go to work... not when everything is fine, but in times of dread. That’s our job.' I felt foolish the rest of the morning, especially when I recalled the artists who had done their work in gulags, prison cells, hospital beds; who did their work while hounded, exiled, reviled, pilloried. And those who were executed... this is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.” Maya Angelou.
Love, light, and good writing,
Charlotte
P.S. Got anything to add to my creativity tenets? Please feel free. But let’s keep it focused on creativity and writing.
Articles and Resources
Do we still have heroes?
*Are you still writing on Medium? Maybe it’s time to consider a change.
Using external pressure in your story.
And for some just plain ole fun, here’s the ultimate guide to Murder, She Wrote.
Books
Cozy fantasy for the win! I’ve needed something to take my mind off current reality.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. I got a huge stack of books from the library last weekend, ones I’d been eagerly anticipating, and none of them thrilled me. Sigh. So I turned to my Kindle and restarted this book that I’d begun in Italy but abandoned. Now I’m loving it.
And in case you need some cozy reads at this time, next on my list are:
The House Witch by Delemhach. This is a whole series, and I have it on good authority (my physical therapist shares my love of cozy fantasy) that it is excellent.
The Good and the Green by Amy Yorke. When Alison Lennox inherits a country estate, she’s set to sell it and take the money and run back to her city life. But who knew village life was going to be so charming?
Drinks and Sinkholes, by S. Usher Evans. Part of The Weary Dragon Inn series, this cozy fantasy is a mystery as well.
And essay writers (and others) don’t forget:
Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay: Crafting the Story Only You Can Write, by Nancy Slonim Aronie. The lovely people at New World Library have been sending me books to review for years, and this one came in the mail recently. I’ll have more on it soon, but it definitely looks like a valuable addition to the essay writer’s library.
Workshops in England and France
Information, including dates and cost, for our 2025 England workshops is now listed on our website. And heads up! The deadline for early-bird discount was November 1 (but if you beg and grovel we might give you an extension to the 15th). We’ve had several writers indicate strong interest in joining and a couple of sign-ups already, so we recommend registering soon.
We’ll also be returning to France, and though we don’t have exact info for 2025 up yet, you can read about 2024 here.
And if you want a taste of the adventure that awaits, you can read my posts about this year here, and here, here, here, and here.
Other places to connect with me:
My website (badly in need of an upgrade)
Our workshop website
My original blog (now for archive purposes only, no longer updated)
Ways I can help you:
Good Morning, Charlotte!
As a Canadian, I watched in disbelief and felt the shock that resounded around the world at the US election news. I couldn't believe it.
I also fear for the future of the world, not just the US. A troubling time in history with the rise of Facism and dictators.
Your positive post reminded me that we must keep going on creating and persevering through troubled times, not letting it crush us and render us helpless.
I find music soothing to escape into and latched onto a Canadian aboriginal musician and composer from a tribe in New Brunswick, Jeremy Dutcher this week. I heard one of his compositions on CBC on Wednesday when I was immersed in sadness hearing the US election news.
His music took me out of that feeling of hopelessness and I was captivated. It gave me Frisson, that shivery feeling when a piece of music really connects deep into our soul. I am taking a memoir class again with the theme about our relationships with our mothers and am writing a piece about my late mother and her passion for music and how it connected me to her. She often had frisson.
I can't explain why some pieces give me Frisson, but they just do. Have you felt that sensation before? I just embrace it and enjoy the moment when it happens.
Have a happy and creative Sunday, everyone! Cathy
I love them and will try to remember and live by them - try being the essential word!