Beware the Nun Pigs
I took a long European vacay and was very tempted to stay.
Monthly Overview
This past month was spent on the road. My husband and I traveled through Spain, Italy, and Scotland.
This newsletter features some thoughts and inspiration from the trip. But don’t worry. Even though I spent time abroad, I won’t call that coastal city in Spain “Barthelona”.
Section #1: Creativity Content
Takeaway: Vintage creativity
Section #2: Book Coaching News
Takeaway: Towards Zero
Section #3: Personal Writing Updates
Takeaway: A change of pace
Section #1: Creativity Content
"True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision." - Edith Wharton
Contextualizing Creativity
One fun thing about being in The Old World this past month was seeing art from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
A magic moment occurred when Emilio and I saw the work of El Bosco (Hieronymus Bosch). I knew nothing about him, but he’s a Dutch painter who was active from the 1400s to the early 1500s.
Y’all his paintings were so wild.
To start, here is a man being kissed by a pig in a habit (the titular Nun Pig):
Then there’s this (which I’ll let you assess on your own time). THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON. Surrealism didn’t kick off for 500 years (!!) after El Bosco was working, so to say that he was ahead of his time is a massive understatement.
Then, there is this, which predicted the sci-fi aesthetic a couple of hundred years before it was a thing:
Emilio was the one who spotted the sci-fi similarity. Then I spent the next three days contemplating how he CAME UP WITH THIS. For most of the Middle Ages they were painting weird-looking Baby Jesuses and flat churches. How did this guy have visions of imagery that predate other similar styles by hundreds of years?
I had no idea who El Bosco was a month ago, but I can now say he is on my list of GOATs.
I think the big takeaway for me was to follow your singular artistic vision. El Bosco did some wild things, but we’re still admiring them nearly 600 years later. His work has been referred to as “fantastic”, “gruesome”, and “titillating”, but there’s no doubt that it inspired many others to pursue more esoteric forms of art.
If you had told me that my favorite paintings from the Prado would have been from the Middle Ages, I’d have said, “There’s no way, you crazy pig nun!” But here we are. Thanks, Bosco.
Creativity Recommendation
While I was on the trip, I finished up The Creative Cure. It includes some cool activities and exercises to help include creativity in your everyday life. It also takes a more spiritual/wellness approach to creativity that I appreciated.
Resources
Peep my creativity website if you are interested in tapping into your playful side.
Section #2: Book Coaching News
Towards Zero
I picked up a literary novel to read on my trip. This proved to be a pretty dumb idea. Don’t get me wrong, Housekeeping is beautiful to read, but impossible to focus on when you’re bopping around constantly.
To remedy this, I hopped on Libby and downloaded a couple Agatha Christie books. These were exactly the kind of novels I needed—quick to pick up, easy to follow, and light on stakes.
One of the ones I grabbed was Towards Zero. I did this because there is a new TV adaptation which features one of my queens, Anjelica Huston. (Please see the image of her looking fierce and dour above.)
I enjoyed reading the book, but I wouldn’t say it was the best novel ever. It was very much like literary chocolate—It didn’t entirely fill me up, but I enjoyed the taste. Though I think there are some great lessons from the book about keeping a reader engaged:
Make your characters pop. The book centers on the indomitable dame (played by Huston in the TV show). She is a fierce driver of the action, but you also get an idiot playboy, the young knockout dame he marries, her friend who’s in love with her, and many others. Having a cast that’s fun but also carries flaws and complex backstories is a must.
Causation wins. I recently read A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, and he cites that one of the most difficult tasks for a writer is making sure that the book’s plot progresses from A to B to C. Often when you’re writing, you get so caught up in the events that you don’t draw a clear line of causation. (Joe killed that guy, but would he really? Why? He never really had problems with him…) Making sure your plot events are anchored in character decisions that make sense is crucial (and very hard to do). In Toward Zero, Christie pulls back the veil at the end, and everything makes sense. The vengeful murder is justified by all that has come before.
Structure is actually kind of important. I love reading Christie because I KNOW I’m going to get fantastic twists, reversals, and reveals at the 25%, 50%, and 75% marks in the Kindle books. She knows how to keep the audience engaged and tosses in complications at exactly the right times. Structure can be dull and pen you in, but when it’s done right (and driven by character and causation!), it keeps the reader flipping pages.
General Updates
Check out my book coaching offerings to see my writer support packages. Any questions, you can always reach out to creativitywithtedd@gmail.com.
Section #3: Author Updates
Creative Breaks
While on vacation, I purposely left my computer at home. Instead, I packed a notebook, and rather than jumping online or into a word processor, I hand-wrote journal entries for each day.
It was a nice little creative break. It was also refreshing to see all the new ideas that came up while we were traveling—blog posts, short stories, and novel ideas. It was a great reminder that traveling helps unblock the set pathways in your brain and brings up new emotions and ideas.
I highly encourage a little computer creative break if you can take it. You don’t have to go anywhere to disconnect— just take a journal out to jot down ideas on a park bench or in a coffee shop. Give it a shot. You never know what the new routine might stir up in you!
Other news:
Round Up
July, you were fantastic! (Aside from the encounter with the Nun Pigs, obviously.) I hope y’all are having a great summer. Please drop me an email or a line and let me know how it’s going :)
And this month’s song hit at a perfect time. I was taking a walk during a breathtaking Chicago sunset, and then this came on my phone. I think I may have listened to it 1000 times, but it has great summery/sunset/melancholy vibes… If you’re into that kind of thing.
See you in August!
Tedd, love the song! As well as your newsletter. Wild info about El Bosco; I too knew about Bosch, but hadn't paid much attention to his artwork. Thanks for the samples. :-)