All the feelings reading this. Hard relate. I have the advantage of a rich brother-in-law I borrow from regularly and gainful employment from the Royal Literary Fund (BEST ORGANISATION EVER - CHECK THEM OUT). In the past I have worked as a childminder, bookseller and waitress, all of which I found suited the writing life and provided inspiration I continue to draw from but none of which were sustainable in the long term. I had a 'proper job' for a few years and wrote nothing for the duration of my contract because it sapped all the energy I would otherwise expend on coming up with stories. The trick is to find a balance. Now I teach Creative Writing and find conversations with students helpful in reminding me what I think about various things to do with writing. Good luck in finding a balance, dear Camilla, and fuck Lidl - they're on the BDS list anyway xxx
Loved this - especially the Virginia Woolf quotations. (Always a risk being friends with Dylan Thomas, inappropriate peeing almost a rite of passage...) So glad to have found you (and planning to drop by again - thank Abra McAndrew and her excellent list...).
I feel you -- i've always shied away from writing about keeping afloat as a writer because people tend to recoil from honest portrayals of financial struggle
Camilla, this was one of the most profound, deep, and effortlessly honest pieces of writing I’ve read. I truly appreciate it. This could easily become a manifesto for a specific group of artists of our time, and my hope is that people will review it with the same level of insightfulness that you analyzed Woolf, now and in the future.
I live in a country in which the economy is in shambles, and the publishing industry is so ineffectual that authors are not even given a soothing misconception of making a living by writing. So, just as you described, I had to choose having a day-time job while trying to write by night, sacrificing precious sleep and even my health. I’m now at the point where I trick myself into believing that I wouldn’t be able to write without the interactions and space my day-time job provides.
I stumbled upon "The Doll’s Alphabet" at Shakespeare and Co. during a business trip to Paris. I didn’t know about you, didn’t hear about the book. What drew me to it was the sheer imagery of the title. And I fell in love with it. I still cannot say that I know you, but upon reading your work, I know what you saw while trying to keep your head above the water (or while breathing it), how you perceived the world, and what you turned it into. Not everyone who spends some time as a cinema staff could create the intense world of "Children of Paradise".
I believe one can only hope to become a harmonious part of literature (sadly through suffering), and not conquer it (considering “conquest” means “making an income to sustain your life”). At least for me, your works are indeed among the finest of contemporary literature with their vision and atmosphere.
I don't know if Virginia Woolf would approve of UBI.
When John Maynard Keynes started to doubt free trade Virginia Woolf was horrified. “Maynard has become a Protectionist” she wrote to a friend in September 1930, “Which horrified me so that I promptly fainted.”
All the feelings reading this. Hard relate. I have the advantage of a rich brother-in-law I borrow from regularly and gainful employment from the Royal Literary Fund (BEST ORGANISATION EVER - CHECK THEM OUT). In the past I have worked as a childminder, bookseller and waitress, all of which I found suited the writing life and provided inspiration I continue to draw from but none of which were sustainable in the long term. I had a 'proper job' for a few years and wrote nothing for the duration of my contract because it sapped all the energy I would otherwise expend on coming up with stories. The trick is to find a balance. Now I teach Creative Writing and find conversations with students helpful in reminding me what I think about various things to do with writing. Good luck in finding a balance, dear Camilla, and fuck Lidl - they're on the BDS list anyway xxx
❤️❤️ its nice to hear other writers stories of work too!
Loved this - especially the Virginia Woolf quotations. (Always a risk being friends with Dylan Thomas, inappropriate peeing almost a rite of passage...) So glad to have found you (and planning to drop by again - thank Abra McAndrew and her excellent list...).
I feel you -- i've always shied away from writing about keeping afloat as a writer because people tend to recoil from honest portrayals of financial struggle
Camilla, this was one of the most profound, deep, and effortlessly honest pieces of writing I’ve read. I truly appreciate it. This could easily become a manifesto for a specific group of artists of our time, and my hope is that people will review it with the same level of insightfulness that you analyzed Woolf, now and in the future.
I live in a country in which the economy is in shambles, and the publishing industry is so ineffectual that authors are not even given a soothing misconception of making a living by writing. So, just as you described, I had to choose having a day-time job while trying to write by night, sacrificing precious sleep and even my health. I’m now at the point where I trick myself into believing that I wouldn’t be able to write without the interactions and space my day-time job provides.
I stumbled upon "The Doll’s Alphabet" at Shakespeare and Co. during a business trip to Paris. I didn’t know about you, didn’t hear about the book. What drew me to it was the sheer imagery of the title. And I fell in love with it. I still cannot say that I know you, but upon reading your work, I know what you saw while trying to keep your head above the water (or while breathing it), how you perceived the world, and what you turned it into. Not everyone who spends some time as a cinema staff could create the intense world of "Children of Paradise".
I believe one can only hope to become a harmonious part of literature (sadly through suffering), and not conquer it (considering “conquest” means “making an income to sustain your life”). At least for me, your works are indeed among the finest of contemporary literature with their vision and atmosphere.
Really good piece Camilla. Really appreciate the raw honesty.
I don't know if Virginia Woolf would approve of UBI.
When John Maynard Keynes started to doubt free trade Virginia Woolf was horrified. “Maynard has become a Protectionist” she wrote to a friend in September 1930, “Which horrified me so that I promptly fainted.”
I wonder when and how she expected everyone to write their one book! Though I like the idea a lot, rings to danilo kis Encyclopedia of the dead
❤️❤️❤️❤️