I have a question for you:
Do you write because…
you love to express yourself creatively?
you learn about yourself each time you write?
it makes you feel better?
you’re a language-lover?
you’re a teacher and use your creative writing to teach and transform?
All of the above?
If your answer was “all of the above,” you have something in common with Anna Lo Mastro.
Anna is originally from the UK and lives and teaches in Italy. She’s the author of 3 books (so far) in the Spin Me Yarn Series for English-language learners. You can find her books at Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com. You can follow Anna on Instagram or TikTok.
And she’s also a longtime member of my Tip of the Iceberg Creative Community.
Have you ever joined a writing workshop and met up with someone who reminds you why it’s so fun to read and write with others?
Then you know someone like Anna.
Each time we meet up for a writing workshop in our community, we learn something from each other--and discover perspectives on the prompts for the months that never would have occurred to us otherwise.
Each time we discuss what we’ve written at the end of our writing workshops, Anna reminds through her own example:
If you want to write something longer--a longer story, a book, a collection…
and you can’t quite ‘finish’ it in the time you have to write…
don’t panic!
You can do what Anna often does:
Pick up that longer piece in your next writing session, your next writing workshop. Keep at a little each month and you will write your story or collection or book.
And just maybe you’ll find yourself ‘writing for work’ someday soon as Anna has. As you go from finishing to publishing your work. Grab your coffee or tea, read up, and remember:
You can do this too.
This post is part of a series: What keeps you writing?
I’m asking writers in our creative writing community to share what keeps you writing. And maybe I’m asking all of us to ask ourselves that question too.
I hope we’ll all start a conversation around the words of wisdom of people who I think know how to step out of time for a little bit and grab the essence of life as they write.
Here’s my interview with Anna. Enjoy!
What do you enjoy about writing for creative expression or about writing creatively? What kinds of projects are you working on?
I have always had a very vivid imagination and love for stories of all kinds. As an introvert I prefer to express myself in writing as I have more time and space to think about how I want to come across. This combined with my interest in language and languages make writing a good creative outlet for me. I am working on a series of grammar guides with short stories for ESL students as I want the stories to be not only educational but also good pieces of writing in their own right.
What challenges have you met with this year in terms of your time to write or for creative expression?
As always the problem is time. If you consider writing or creative activities as hobbies or free time pastimes it is easy to put them off in favour of more 'important' things.
What habits, techniques, or sources of inspiration keep you writing in challenging times?
Being part of this group with regular appointments is a good reminder to allow myself space. Hearing what other members of the group are up to is motivating and it is inspiring to read their work. Fortunately, as I am now selling a few copies the books I have written, I can consider writing time as 'work', even though it is something that I enjoy and find relaxing and energising at the same time.
However, it's also ok to admit that you don't have time and giving yourself space to relax, reflect, watch a film or read a book or go for a walk is actually essential for coming up with new ideas or points of view.
What keeps you motivated to keep writing or expressing yourself?
It's something that I have and do for myself away from family and work commitments. I would like writing to be a bigger part of my future working life and that idea makes me excited about the future. When I get positive feedback from other members of the group or from readers, that's definitely motivating.
Is there a connection you feel between the creative writing we do together and your writing for more professional goals, or interests?
I am an English teacher and I have taught for 20 years. I actually started writing again because a student of mine asked me if I could write him a short story containing some vocabulary he wanted to memorize.
I enjoyed it so much that it gave me the idea that led to writing the grammar stories that I have published so far. I use the writing meetings as a quiet time but always as inspiration for new elements and angles to add to my future stories. As I said my idea is to create a series or collection of stories in the same format and for writing and promoting them to become my main focus.
Tell us…what keeps you writing?
Do you have a creative project you’re working on? Or dreaming of working on (at a sane pace)?
Are you someone who has figured out that, sometimes, writing for business IS creative writing? Whether it’s telling a story to teach someone a language, or telling your story to inspire others?
Whatever it is, tell us about it in the comments.
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