Fostering Creativity
Dear Friend,
This week I wanted to share some creative projects I have been working on about fostering creativity.
I recently read Claire Keegan’s novella, Foster, for the first time. I loved it for its tender portrait of the protagonist, a girl of around nine or ten, and the adults who fostered her for a summer. She bloomed under their attention, attention she would never have received in her busy, noisy home where her mother had to care for many young children.
It made me think of fostering in all its forms: to care for, to look after, to protect and nurture, to recognise, to allow passions to flourish.
I also read pieces by two of my favourite internet philosophers, Alice Sparkly Kat and Kening Zhu, who made me think about how to foster this necessary element.
Too many of us still treat our creative powers as mere side hustles or luxuries. Your creativity is not a luxury. Your creativity is necessary and will bring you into the future.
it begins with acknowledging that the practice of creativity is life source. you do it because it makes you more of who you are.
This month, I have committed to my own creative practice, in spite of not feeling like I had the time, because I know that without fostering creativity I won’t be able to help anyone else.
I have been editing the interviews I have gathered from writers who I have worked with over the past few years, so that I can share their insights with you.
I have also been distilling some of what I have learned about story structure.
It isn’t quite the free MFA that I would love to offer, but I hope it will provide a rich seam for literary exploration.
It is a public experiment and a way for me to practice being imperfect, and exploratory, in relation to other writers.
You can listen to the first two (very short) episodes here.
Ep. 1. Introduction to Ceremony & Story
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🍄 Fruit (things that are ready to share)
Voice and Style: A Question, A Case Study, A Ritual
In my irregular, impromptu, writing advice series, I answered a question on writing style with the help of the poet Kim Hyesoon and her concept of magic words.
You unearth your work like an archaeologist discovers treasures, or a farmer pulls up crops.
The Animal Channel with Matilde Pratesi
I have worked with Matilde since 2021, and we had a deep conversation about the process of writing her first novel, Pig, which will come out in May 2025.
You are going into a state of trance and time just kind of goes and there's this sort of animal channel between the head and the hand and it's wonderful.
🦠 Spores (tiny ideas)
I love answering writing questions with the help of poets, musicians, tarot, and otherworldly transmissions. If you have a question that might fit, then please email me!
𓍊𓍊𓍊 Mycelium (relational networks)
On 29th October at 3pm GMT/11am EST I will be reading alongside two Ceremony Prize-winning writers, Zahra Jazmina and Noémie Cansier, to launch Liz Worth’s poetry collection, Inside Every Dream, A Raging Sea. We would love to see you there!
“This intimate online event features poetry, horror, innovation, activism, and more. It is a celebration of new works and an invitation for inspiration. A communal ritual of creative potential.”
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I wish you a week of fostering your own creativity.
Love, Laura
🐚 this is microdosing ceremony, a weekly-ish letter from my artist’s cocoon to yours.
🌺 find out more about rituals and writing on the ceremony podcast.
🐇 explore creative rabbit holes on my website.