Read on for news and updates, links to examples of my work, thoughts on writing and fundraising, book reviews and other musings.
Reflections on being edited
Happy last-Thursday-of-the-month, everyone. Welcome to the March 2024 edition of I love words.
(Yes, I missed February, but that’s because I was finishing the article I’m about to tell you about…)
Running is open to everyone (except for when it isn’t).
Earlier this month, I had an article published in the 39th issue of Like the Wind - a beautifully put together magazine that focusses on why we run (rather than how). The article discusses the lack of diversity in running coaching and looks at work being done to address that.
I’ve had a few pieces published in LtW over the years, but this one was different. My previous articles have been self-initiated submissions, but this one was working with a brief provided by Simon, the editor. As such, there was more to the work than just sharing my thoughts. It involved research, interviewing people, careful consideration of an important topic, and being edited.
I don’t think I’m alone among writers in not loving the idea of someone else editing my work. I don’t even like people looking over my shoulder when I’m working. It probably stems from not wanting people to judge my work negatively, but it’s also a personal fussiness about how I would like things to be. I’m more than happy to adhere to style guidelines, or match the tone of a publication, but much prefer to be the one making the edits to my text. I feel uncomfortable when someone else does it.
Or at least, I used to. Following this project, I’m now excited about being edited.
After submitting my draft article on coaching diversity, LtW’s co-editor, Imogen worked her magic, and I’m so grateful to her for doing so.
There were a couple of tweaks to my words, with some bits cut and others added in. The best change was Imogen’s re-formatting of the opening paragraph. I’d struggled to come up with a title, but Imogen noticed that the introduction could be presented as a prose poem, with the first line forming the title of the piece. It would be a longer title than was usual, but would have more impact.
With Imogen’s creativity, skill as an editor, and fresh eyes - viewing my words without the emotional attachment that I have for them - the finished article was polished to a higher shine than I could have managed on my own.
LtW is only published in print, so you’ll have to buy a copy (or pop round and read mine) to read the article… LINK
Things I liked (and think you might, too)
Depeche Mode, by Serhiy Zhadan
A classic from one of the most important contemporary Ukrainian writers: LINK
‘Mario Fraioli’s training principles for running’
Substitute ‘running’ for whatever it is you do: LINK
‘Blindboy Boatclub on the power of words,’ interview by Josh Jones
An interesting little interview from Huck magazine: LINK
‘Speaking to Patrick McCabe about writing, failure and creativity,’ by Blindboy Boatclub
And a longer interview worth listening to: LINK
‘Invisible Ink: at the CIA’s creative writing group,’ by Johannes Lichtman
This is fun: LINK
A thousand words
Brussels, December 2023, Kodak Ultramax 400 film.
Organise
Welcome to the January 2024 edition of I love words. This month’s edition has a New Year, sorting my writing out, practical vibe to it…
Find your flow
Each of us thinks differently, works in different circumstances, and have different projects we want to complete, so it stands to reason (to my mind, at least), that we’ll all have slightly different ways of working effectively. Because of this, I’m not going to tell you that my way to write is the best way to write. But I am going to share two tools that have helped me to get the best out of my writing. You may disagree with my suggestions. That’s OK, but please share your working practices in the comments as others may find them useful.
Scrivener
I am in danger of becoming a Scrivener evangelist. It’s brilliant. If you’re unfamiliar, Scrivener is a piece of word processing software, but differs from other programmes in how it lets you organise your work.
You can split a project up into different parts (sentence, paragraph, chapter - whatever size you want). You can work on each part separately, move them around, edit them, and compile them into one big finished document however you wish.
I used Scrivener when writing The Momentum Mindset and it helped me reach 50,000+ words without becoming overwhelmed by the size of the task. I could take Vicki’s (my co-author) notes, pop each idea or topic into Scrivener as a separate section, and work on them in whatever order I wanted. By freeing me from the idea of a linear work flow, such as you might find with a conventional ‘start-to-finish’ page-scrolling word processor, I could write according to inspiration and get the project finished.
It’s tricky to explain such a complex piece of software in few words, so head over to their website and give the trial a go to understand it more. Be warned, it can look a little heavy at first, but there’s loads of blogs and videos around to guide you through it.
I set up a little affiliate link thingy, if you want to check out Scrivener for yourself: LINK
Todoist
This is a new addition to my life. I freelance and work for different organisations. For some of them I have multiple projects on the go. This can make it difficult to keep track of everything. I love notebooks, and had kept a paper to-do list, but it was huge and intimidating and tricky to maintain.
I read about Todoist, in Robert Wringham’s column in issue 15 of the excellent New Escapologist. It’s an app that you can have on your phone and computer and it synchronises and does all the things that apps do nowadays. But unlike other to-do list apps I’ve come across, the interface for this one just feels right. It’s flexible, I can organise it how I want, I can nest lists within lists within lists and all of a sudden I no longer have to keep all these tasks fizzing around my head and can outsource them to Todoist. It’s freeing and my productivity has shot up significantly, which gives me more time to write.
I use the free version and that’s sufficient for my needs. You can find it here (no affiliate link this time): LINK
What works for you? What doesn’t?
I’m aware two recommendations for software may not constitute the most exciting writing advice ever, but I think it’s helpful for the tech to get out of the way. I love writing in a notebook, partly because I can jump all over the page, but it’s a pain to then type it out when I want to use it. Any tech that helps me write in the way I think is a good thing, and that’s why I wanted to share the above.
I’m always on the look out for new ideas though, so feel free to chip in with your suggestions.
Things I liked (and think you might, too)
‘‘It’s a golden age’: poetry flourishes in Ukraine – but at a terrible price’, by Luke Harding
The Guardian highlighting how the war in Ukraine has led to a creative outpouring of poetry - but with many of the poets being killed by Russian soldiers and artillery: LINK
‘Making of a Poem: Farid Matuk on “Crease”’
I have a mixed relationship with poetry. On the one hand, I love the idea of free, lyrical expression with the words and meter structured however I wish. On the other, I feel safer within the expected, rationalised conventions of prose or strict poetry forms such as haiku. As such, I find myself drawn to The Paris Review’s series in which poets explain how a piece came to be written and edited, complete with annotations. It’s also reassuring to read that others take a long time (years) to get their personal creative work to a state they can feel happy with.
Jesse’s Darling’s site visit - a road trip movie
The Turner Prize winner took a film-crew from Tate out for an adventure. I enjoyed this… LINK
A thousand words
Portsmouth, 2023, Kodak film
Why do they make it so hard?
One of the big supermarkets recently updated the application guidelines for their charitable foundation, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Once again, the charitable arm of a large company has made it fantastically difficult for anyone to a) apply, and b) receive enough money to make the process of applying worthwhile.
There are a few different funding streams, but I’ll look at the Empowering Communities stream here.
The issues
There are so many barriers being put up here:
The guidelines document is 27 pages long - which is going to take a fair bit of time to read through properly.
There is a six week application window - not long for a small team of volunteers who may be trying to submit this in their spare time.
Projects have to be completed (one-off events) or started (ongoing projects) within six months of the application deadline - which may not be the most appropriate timeline for a particular project.
Grants are between £400 and £1,600, which is a small amount of money relative to the effort required to complete the form.
Donations can only be made by cheque (what?).
And to top it all off:
Applications can only be made after first receiving approval from an in-store Community Champion.
If you want to apply, you have to go into one of their larger stores, find the Community Champion (assuming they’re even on shift when you visit), and ask them for an application form.
This isn’t a resource issue for the company. This is one of the biggest companies in the country. They’ve got the resources to build a website and produce guidelines with pages and pages of information, so an online application form is not beyond them. This is a deliberate choice.
I like to assume good intent, so I imagine these application restrictions were designed to encourage stronger links between the in-store Community Champions and their local community. Plus, the company are doing a good thing by making money available to good causes, and that should be celebrated. But, the unintended consequence is that the company have succeeded in making it excessively difficult for the good causes in those communities to apply for the funds that they’re offering.
An alternative
As someone who has completed a lot of lengthy application forms, often for small amounts of money, I’ve perhaps got more radical views on this than most.
A large scale corporate-funded charitable foundation such as this is going to receive a huge number of applications for grants, even with the barriers they’ve put in place. This makes work for the charities and it makes work for the funder’s staff. There is a time and money cost to this. Why not simplify the whole process, and make it easier and cheaper for everyone, by randomising it?
All charities or community interest companies are already overseen and regulated by government agencies who ensure that they’re doing charitable work and organising themselves appropriately. Therefore, any donation to a registered charity or CIC is going to have a positive social benefit. It doesn’t matter which one you give money to, as they’ll all do good things with it.
By all means, set some parameters to match your goals, such as:
Must work within 10 miles of a branch
Must work with young people
If you tick those boxes, fill in your details and join the ballot. At the end of the application period, five (for example) are picked out at random. The Community Champion gets in touch, says “here’s £1,500 for you”, and they work with the charity to decide what project to use it on. This way, the leg work is only done with the five grant recipients, which is far more efficient.
I’ll admit, there could be regulatory reasons why this isn’t possible, but I can’t see what. Plus, I wouldn’t want this model used to fund more complex projects, or for high value donations, as they do require a more detailed, specialist approach. However, for a supermarket looking to decide who to give £400 to £1,600 to, I think this would work pretty well.
[ps: On the small chance that no-one has pointed out the flaws in their process, I’ll send a list of suggestions to the funder of things they can change for the better.
pps: Benefact already do something along these lines, with a monthly £1,000 prize draw for grants: LINK]
Opportunities for you
Trustee vacancy
If you’re fairly local to Southampton, UK, and interested in becoming a charity trustee, please reply to this email and let me know.
I have links with an organisation working with local older people. They are on the lookout for a new trustee, preferably with fundraising experience. If you’d like to learn more, I can give you the details and put you in touch. It’s a great, smaller charity that is well run and punches above its weight.
News from elsewhere
‘‘A national emergency’: UK theatres fear closure after more local funding cuts,’ by Vanessa Thorpe
The Guardian reports the desperate situation for many regional theatres, as councils cut arts funding to balance the books: LINK
‘Camila Batmanghelidjh was loudly vilified – and then silently vindicated,’ by Dr Mine Conkbayir
Byline Times highlights the way in which the Kids Company founder had her reputation publicly trashed, and then received little in the way of apology or attention when she was cleared of wrongdoing: LINK
Thank you for reading
Finally, here’s a photo has that has nothing to do with anything mentioned in this newsletter, but makes it look more interesting…
Skateboarder in Guildhall Square, Southampton, 2023.
My most significant books of 2023
To begin, an apology: this isn’t the last Thursday of December, so by the standards I’ve set myself, this is late. But who wants to read an email newsletter on the Thursday between Christmas and New Year, anyway? Surely it’s better to receive it at the end of the first week in January, when you may be more inclined to digest it?
Not necessarily the best, or my favourite
Last year, I wrote that Immanuel by Matthew McNaught was my favourite book of the year. This year, I don’t have a favourite. There were plenty of books I liked, but none that stand out.
Instead, I’ve decided to share the books that were most significant to me in 2023. They’re here, because I’ve learnt something - either about writing, or about myself - from them.
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
This is a great story, but I value this book so highly as it showed me just how strongly style and presentation can be used to service the story and the mood.
McCarthy has a famously stripped back style (no speech attribution, very little punctuation) as he doesn’t want the page to be cluttered with distractions. As well as a visual cleanliness, the starkness adds to the punch of the story.
We should go, Papa. Can we go?
Yes. We can go.
I’m scared.
I know. I’m sorry.
I’m really scared.
It’s all right. We shouldnt have come.
It’s taught me not to stress about which are the ‘correct’ quotation marks to use in British English, for example, but to do what works best for the story. It’s also a challenge to try and write dialogue so well that attribution (she said, he said) is unnecessary.
Also…
I’ll add a special mention for In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, which I didn’t read in 2023 so doesn’t officially make this list, but also has an individual dialogue layout style, which works perfectly.
- How are you Patrick?
He gave his nervous laugh that she loved.
- I’m on the verge as usual.
- Don’t lose that.
Calendário Avulso, by Paola D’Agostino and Nina Fraser
Compared with other artists and creators, writers can seem preoccupied with satisfying gatekeepers - agent, publisher, bookseller - all before reaching their audience, the reader. Often, we don’t even write anything unless someone has commissioned us to do so.
Visual artists tend not to behave in this way. Some will work with a gallerist or representative, who stand in the way of the artist and their audience, but visual artists tend not to ask permission before making art. They have an idea, and they put it to paper. They may even reproduce it as prints, and sell it through their own channels. There’s a directness to the process that I admire.
This is why I was so excited to receive my friend Nina’s small book, created with Paola D’Agostino. It pairs Nina’s images with Paola’s text. It’s exciting, because it takes that DIY visual artist sensibility to production and applies it to a book.
It gave me the confidence to think that if I wanted to do this - perhaps a self-produced short story in a small book sold direct to the reader - then I can do so. Of course I can.
Yes, a self-published pamphlet might not make me loads of money, but with the state of writing at the moment, a conventionally published text probably wouldn't either. By thinking like an artist, I can be free of conventions about form and style and content and create whatever I want.
Now, I just need to do so.
Also…
Similarly, my colleague Liliana Tucker self-initiated/wrote/drew/produced Impermanence: When we Become Butterflies.
The Momentum Mindset, by Vicki Main & Jonathan S. Bean
Yes, this is my own book, co-written with Vicki Main, but I’m not going to be ashamed of including it here. This article is all about books I’ve learnt from, and I learnt a lot from this one.
As well as learning a lot about mindset through the research, this taught me about the actual nuts and bolts of drafting, editing, collaborating, designing, layout, printing, ISBN numbers, legal deposits, sales, distribution, etc.
In effect, Vicki and I became a boutique publishing house!
If you want to talk about how we did it, please get in touch. Or, watch this space, as we’re working on a self-publishing course which will be available soon.
Hang on…
You might be thinking: ‘Hang on. In the section above you wrote that Nina and Paola’s book gave you the confidence to self-publish and that you now need to do so. But you’ve already done it.’
The difference is that The Momentum Mindset wasn’t self-initiated. Vicki had already been working on it before I joined the project. Thus, Calendário Avulso has helped me realise (the really rather obvious point) that I don’t need someone else to commission me before I can create a book project. The process of creating The Momentum Mindset has given me the skills to put it all into a tangible form.
Owlish, by Dorothy Tse
The books above have all helped me as a writer. This one helped me as a reader.
I sometimes struggle with magic realism and stuff that isn't 100% of this world, or 100% fantasy. For instance, I liked The Buried Giant, but struggled through One Hundred Years of Solitude. I tend to find myself trying to understand how it all works, and rationalise it.
At first, I thought Owlish might be a problem, but the story captivated me. I then accepted that I, as the reader, am not meant to know exactly how this world is structured, or where the lines between reality, imagination, and metaphor are drawn. The important thing is to surrender myself to what I'm reading and just go with it, paying attention to the emotions.
Enjoy how it makes your heart move, don't worry if it confuses your head because that can be a wonderful thing.
Thank you for reading
Feel free to chip in with your comments, either on my suggestions, or your own significant books of 2023. I’d love to hear from you.
Normal I love words service will resume on the last Thursday of January. Until then, here’s a photo I took in the summer…
A thousand words
Cows, near Woolacombe, summer 2023, Kodak film.
What charities can learn from my chiropractor
Since the spring, I’ve been seeing a chiropractor, prompted by neck pain and headaches. The improvement in just a few months has been amazing, but that’s not really what this newsletter is about.
If you’re a reader who knows me personally, you’ll probably know I run a fair bit. Back in October, I ran a marathon. Naturally, the chiropractor took an interest in my preparation for the marathon and it was something we talked about a lot. And yet, it was such a pleasant surprise to receive a card, in the post, congratulating me on the run.
The power of nice surprises
My chiropractor is the excellent Ellie Pennycook at Evolve in Winchester. Ellie had said ‘well done’ in person, at my first appointment after the marathon, so she didn’t need to send me a card.
Plus, ‘well done on your marathon’ cards aren’t a thing, so it was not something I expected.
That’s what made it such a pleasant surprise. It was both unnecessary and unexpected.
It was also completely one-sided, in that it was all about me! There was no ‘we’ in the card, with Ellie seeking some of the credit for her work in getting me to the start-line in good shape. And there was no ask, such as requesting that I leave a testimonial or recommend her services to friends and family.
It was a purely nice thing to do. A card to say ‘well done’ for something that means a lot to me.
Warm and fuzzy
This nice thing made me feel good. I felt good about my run, and I felt good about Ellie and the Evolve team for caring enough to send me a card about it.
The result of this boost of positive feelings is that even though the card contained no “call to action”, I’m now so much more inclined to a) keep paying for their services, and b) recommend them to friends and family.
As someone who works in the charity sector, it struck me that charities could take a similar approach with their donors.
Non-transactional connections
Fundraisers and supporter services teams already send loads of cards, letters and emails, to say nothing of appeals. That’s not unusual.
But what is unusual, is sending cards to supporters for something that has nothing to do with the charity - ‘Well done on your marathon!’ - or doesn’t ask for anything.
Understandably, most of our correspondence with donors is transactional in nature. It’s either a request for support, thanking them for their support, or an update on what their support made possible.
It’s rare for charities to make contact with donors and not make any reference to the work of the charity or the support of the donor.
Perhaps, that’s because we shouldn’t. There’s a strong argument to say that donors want us to be focussed on our charitable activities - the work they support - not trying to be their friend.
My counter-argument is that building non-transactional connections with donors could increase the amount of money raised and therefore help charities to do more charitable work.
Not just your Top 10%
Many fundraisers are already doing this, and I’m not saying anything new. If you spend enough time talking to your supporters you will get to know them and have conversations that aren’t solely about the charity.
That’s true of corporate fundraisers, community fundraisers, major giving fundraisers, and any fundraiser that spends time talking to people. My suspicion, however, is that the non-transactional conversations tend to happen most with the people that we know the best. And the people we know the best are probably the ones who give the most.
What I would like to know is, what would be the effect of having non-transactional, or unexpected conversations with supporters who are further down the Total Donations column?
I don’t have the answer, because I’m not in a position to test it (as a trusts fundraising specialist, opportunities for developing personal connections with donors are limited).
But I suspect the result would be a warm fuzzy boost leading to greater emotional connection between the donor and the charity.
It might not yield significantly greater donation amounts, as many people will already give as much as they feel able to. However, a greater emotional connection seems (to me) likely to:
Help convert one-offs to regular donors.
Improve appeal open rates.
Encourage legacies.
Increase event sign-ups.
Reduce attrition.
Testing, testing
To stress, I don’t know that this would work, and I’m not currently in a position to test the theory. But, if I was, I’d consider the following:
A/B/C testing with your Christmas cards
This is probably too late for this year, but if you’re thinking of sending Christmas cards to your donors, test different messages and see which proves most effective in the long term:
A: Merry Christmas; thank you for your support in 2023; here’s the difference you could make in 2024.
B: Merry Christmas, thank you for your support in 2023.
C: Merry Christmas.
It would be interesting to see if there’s a difference in how donors respond.
Remember the personal touch
People buy from people, so any opportunity to humanise our charities should be taken. Having normal human conversations with donors can help achieve this: Congratulations on your wedding; good luck in your new job; happy birthday.
It’s possible that GDPR rules out the storing of non-essential personal information, such as the name of a donor’s dog or where they went on holiday (you’ll have to check with your Data Controller on this). But this is the kind of information that can help build a personal connection between the fundraiser and the donor. If possible, remember it and use it.
Don’t just treat your Top 10%
Many charities are already in the habit of phoning up donors to say ‘Thank you’ and building those personal connections. Understandably, with limited resources, the donors who already give the most are going to get most of your attention.
This may be a missed opportunity as there could be donors in the remaining 90% who have the potential to become one of your top supporters - or at the very least sign up for your next event.
If doing a session of telephone calls to donors, include some from all across the database. Pick them at random and get in touch to say Hi. If you surprise them, they might just surprise you.
There is nothing new under the sun
If you’re reading this and thinking a) This is all obvious, we’ve been doing it for years, or b) We’ve tried this and it didn’t work, please please please let me know.
I’d be fascinated to see the results of your real-life testing. Yes, it would be gratifying to learn that my hunch is sound, but I think I’d actually be more interested to discover that it doesn’t work.
Please, get in touch and let me know your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you.
It rains.
Happy last-Thursday-of-the-month, everyone. Welcome to the November 2023 edition of I love words. Read on for news of my new third-sector newsletter, Charity Chat, and a few recommendations. First…
‘Es regnet’
As a writer, I enjoy the subtle ways in which small language tweaks can have a big effect on the mood of the written word. Sometimes, they arise from translation, or understanding the ways in which different languages approach the same subject.
A gazillion years ago I studied GCSE German. I’ve forgotten most of it, but there’s a few phrases that have stuck with me. One of my favourites is ‘es regnet’.
The straightforward, easy-to-understand English translation of ‘es regnet’ is ‘it’s raining’. But that’s not an entirely accurate, literal translation as German doesn’t use progressive verbs (-ing words). Instead, ‘it rains’ would be closer to the mark.
‘It rains’ vs ‘It’s raining’
To my mind, they sound completely different and evoke very different sensations, especially when used in the present tense.
‘It’s raining’ suggests a temporary state, or something un-constant.
‘It rains’ suggests something definite, constant, or uncontrollable.
Consider the two very short bits of text:
It’s raining in Southampton. It’s always raining in Southampton. It’s raining when I go to work. It’s raining when I come home from work. It’s raining on the pages as I write this letter to you, and it will be raining when I read your reply.
Or…
It rains in Southampton. It always rains in Southampton. It rains when I go to work. It rains when I come home from work. It rains on the pages as I write this letter to you, and it will rain when I read your reply.
As I said above, it’s subtle, but it’s these oh-so-subtle differences that can have a big effect on your writing. Personally, I think the power is in the unusual phrasing. We’re used to saying ‘it’s raining’, so it feels familiar and comfortable. ‘It rains’ is unfamiliar, so it feels strange and uncomfortable. Inserted precisely, at the right point, it can create a sense of unease and tension that can have a power to it.
Here are another two examples, applied to a potential charity fundraising message…
There is flooding in Bangladesh and it is still raining.
Or…
Bangladesh is flooded. And still, it rains.
Things I liked (and think you might, too)
Chuck Palahniuk on writing through-lines into your work… LINK
George Saunders on emulation… LINK
Wynton Marsalis on how to practice… LINK
Þórdís Helgadóttir, Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir, Sunna Dís Másdóttir, Ragnheiður Harpa Leifsdóttir, Melkorka Ólafsdóttir, and Fríða Ísberg are The Impostor Poets of Iceland… LINK
Fry & Laurie’s comedy gold… LINK
Charity Chat
When writing this newsletter (formerly Words about words, now I love words), I’ve tried to balance the two professional worlds I inhabit: writing and charities. I’m not always happy with the results, as they don’t always fit.
I’m also aware that I have some readers who are here for the writing, and others who are here for the charity stuff.
With that in mind, I’m reorganising things. I love words will continue as a monthly newsletter, focussed on writing.
The charity side of things will now be published as Charity Chat. This is a new, separate publication (also hosted on Substack) that will also be sent out as a monthly newsletter.
All subscribers to I love words will get the first edition Charity Chat (as I don’t know which of you are charity people and which are writers), but you’ll then have the option of managing your own subscriptions.
The first edition will be sent out this Monday, the 4th of December, and will include my thoughts on what charities can learn from my chiropractor.
A thousand words
New Forest, early 2023, Kodak film
Thanks for reading I love words.
I love words - October 2023
Happy last-Thursday-of-the-month, everyone. Welcome to the October edition of I love words. Read on for a charity funding opportunity, Owlish, and Kafka. First…
At what point would you call yourself a writer?
I’m going to tell it to you straight: I will be annoyed with you if you ever refer to yourself as an ‘aspiring writer’.
Writing requires no permission or qualifications. To be a writer, all you have to do is write. To move from ‘aspiring writer’ to ‘writer’, write something. It’s as simple as that.
The main point of my irritation, however, is that the reluctance to call yourself a writer is getting in the way of your writing ambitions. By adding ‘aspiring’ to the descriptor, you’re diminishing yourself and putting yourself down. Don’t do that to yourself!
[Please note, this applies to non-writers, too. I will get annoyed with aspiring runners, artists, bird-watchers, bakers, flautists, and a whole host of other people who seek to engage in pursuits that have no entry requirements beyond making a commitment to yourself to do the thing you want to do. For more on this, head to page 47 of The Momentum Mindset: LINK
Also, I will concede that ‘aspiring’ is perfectly valid when talking about activities that require training or accreditation before you can get started, eg: people who are not yet fully qualified lawyers, brain surgeons, deep sea divers, bridge engineers and so on.]
I think a big part of the problem is that our identities are often so tied up with how we earn money. Yet they shouldn’t be. You can be a writer without being a professional writer. I’ve worked with a lot of actors and theatre-makers recently, and they rarely have this reluctance that writers seem to have. The work is unpredictable, and often poorly paid, so almost all will have other jobs that are unrelated to theatre. Yet they’ll introduce themselves as actors/directors/playwrights, etc.
Musicians happily do this, too. I know musicians who spend most of their working lives as stevedores, shop workers, or theme park employees, but meet them at a party and they won’t hesitate in saying ‘I’m a musician’. Perhaps it’s just the circles I move in, but writers seem to be more hesitant than other artists in this regard.
I don’t mind telling you, dear reader, that only a small part of my income is earned from activities that others might recognise as professional writing: articles, books, etc. Currently, almost all my income comes from working as a charity fundraiser. Yet I still call myself a writer. In part, that’s because my work for charities involves a lot of writing, but mostly because I do still sit down and write. My notebooks are full of ideas, article and book pitches, thoughts, drafts of this newsletter, some words that I’ll eventually get paid for, and scribblings that will only ever be seen by me. As long as I continue writing, whether it’s a lot of words or a few, I will be a writer.
Further reading
For someone else’s take on this, check out Anna Codrea-Rado’s thoughts. In a 2021 newsletter, revisited recently, Codrea-Rado wrote about how her self-identity has shifted. You can read the updated article here: I'm a writer now
Get your charity on the Ludlow platform
The Ludlow Trust company caused a stir in the charity world recently when they announced the opening of their new charity application gateway. Ludlow took on the trusts business of Coutts a little while ago, which included the management of a few hundred charitable trusts.
[For those who are not familiar with the world of charitable trusts, here’s a quick summary. Families or individuals looking for a tax efficient way to give to charity will put a chunk of their money in a charitable trust. This may be managed by a bank, accountant, lawyer, or similar appropriate professional who receives any fundraising applications, but the decisions on which charities receive donations will usually be made by the family or person who has provided the money.]
Previously, a charity that wanted to apply for funding from trusts managed by Coutts/Ludlow would have to apply to each of these trusts individually. With very little public information published on what each trust would fund, this could be a time-consuming, hit or miss activity with little chance of success. It wasted a lot of time, at all stages of the process.
The new system looks like it will be a massive improvement. Charities only need to register on Ludlow’s online platform once. Ludlow will then match the charity to the trusts who are most likely to be supportive. It’s early days, and I don’t yet know of anyone who has received funding through the platform, but if it works as promised it will save time and may even result in an increase in donations.
If your charity is not yet on the platform, you may want to get on it now: LINK
[I’ve got no professional relationship with Ludlow, so this is a recommendation based purely on what appears to be a potentially beneficial new system. As a freelance fundraiser, it would be remiss of me not to point out that I am available to help with the registration and application writing process. Just reply to this email and we can have a chat about it.]
Get some more words in your life!
Here’s my cultural recommendations for this month.
Owlish by Dorothy Tse
Let this book take your mind by the hand, and run with it. It will take you into a city that resembles Hong Kong, but with loose boundaries between the physical, the imagined, the real, and the dreamworld. It’s odd, but in the best possible way.
Owlish is published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, translated by Natascha Bruce, and you can buy it here: LINK
Metamorphosis by Frantic Assembly
“My name is Gregor Samsa and I love fabric!” For a study in tension, check out Frantic Assembly’s production of Metamorphosis, touring now. Based on the novel by Franz Kafka, adapted by Lemn Sisay, and directed by Scott Graham, the play is captivating and incredibly well put together. The movement by the cast, especially Felipe Pacheco as Samsa, is perfect. It’s not a pleasant, fluffy experience, but I loved it.
See Metamorphosis on tour at Newcastle, Colchester, Salford, Guildford, Bristol, Coventry and Hammersmith: LINK
Sizwe Banzi is Dead
This isn’t a recommendation as such, as the tour has finished (unless you can get to Keswick before Saturday), but I had to give a shout out to this production, which I saw at MAST Mayflower Studios recently (thanks for the ticket, Alan!).
The play was written by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona, and first premiered in Cape Town in 1972. Though apartheid and the society it depicts is no longer as it was, this new production deftly showed that racism persists across the world, and that bureaucracy remains a violent tool of oppression. Here’s the info: LINK
A thousand words
Weston Shore, double-exposure, on expired film.
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‘I love words’ - September 2023 newsletter
Hello hello, one and all. Welcome to the September 2023 edition of I love words.
I’m still a little unsure of the format and style of this renewed version of the monthly newsletter, so all comments and suggestions are welcome. I’m sticking to my dual professional interests of writing and charities, though. This month, we’ve got buses, jazz, and funding cuts.
Find characters on buses
In a recent issue of The Idler magazine, Irvine Welsh (author or Trainspotting, among other achievements) told how he would sit on the London Underground’s Central Line all day, writing. He would look at other people on the Tube and write descriptions of them, which he would then keep for later use.
The benefit is that you compile a selection of character descriptions all drawn from real life. You don’t have to imagine what someone looks like, as they’re there in front of you.
I’ve got a couple of long-neglected novel ideas on the go, and have taken to adopting Welsh’s methods when on the bus. I’m not dedicated enough to sit on the bus all day, but if I’m heading into town that gives me ten minutes to jot down a fellow passenger’s likeness on my phone.
I also like to imagine their back-story. The challenge is not falling into the trap of lazy stereotypes based on their appearances, but imagining something about them that is unique to them, to make the description more human.
I might never use the characters I’m compiling, but it’s a useful exercise for anyone who wants to write convincing characters, and a fun way to pass the time when sat on the bus.
“I feel that the single most important thing in writing about foreign characters is writing dialogue as convincingly as possible.” - Len Deighton
On a related note, I enjoyed reading a 1981 interview with spy-novel legend, Len Deighton, in the New York Times. It also includes the admission that he wrote spy stories because he didn’t know enough about the police to write detective novels.
Check out the article here: LINK
“She was chatty, seemingly untroubled” - Jeffrey Eugenides
It was a chance encounter with a teenage babysitter that ultimately led Jeffrey Eugenides to write The Virgin Suicides.
He recounts the experience in an article for The Guardian: LINK
“When you’re writing, tell other people you’re “working.” To other people, “work” is real but “writing” isn’t.” - Elissa Bassist
On Substack, I enjoyed Elissa Bassist’s “incomplete list” of ways to deal with other people when you’re writer. It’s also good advice if you’re not a writer and find yourself having to deal with “energy vampires” who keep distracting you or pulling you away from the things you care about.
Read the list here: LINK
Dead Cats, Closures and a £1 billion cut?
Ian McLintock’s ever-excellent Charity Excellence Framework is an increasingly useful resource for charity fundraisers. In a recent email newsletter he shared the grim forecast that charities (especially smaller ones, who have less capacity to weather the coming storm) are likely to face the risk of closure over the next few years.
Why? Donations from the public have been falling since late 2021, which isn’t helping. Yes, there’s a degree of ‘regression to the mean’ following Covid-related spikes in public generosity, but it’s also true that the public are feeling the pinch from the cost of living crisis.
The big risk to charities, however, is from government cuts. Charities provide government funded services that benefit society across all areas, from youth work through to the environment and health. These have already been cut in recent years and are being cut further. As government contracts come up for renewal, they’re being cancelled or reduced.
The charities that received government funding are then forced to look elsewhere for support. This increases the competition for public donations and grants from charitable trusts and foundations. The public’s capacity to donate is being squashed by the economic situation, so they can’t make up the shortfall. Trusts and foundations have limited resources, too.
The result is that services get cut, or charities run out of money and close (with 2024 forecast to be a tough year), and society suffers as a result. It’s grim news, but it’s important that the sector prepares for this.
Yussef Dayes - “Black Classical Music”
My music highlight of the month was seeing Yussef Dayes and band playing pieces from their new album, Black Classical Music, at Vinilo record store in Southampton.
The album is a tour through Dayes’s own musical influences, his family history, and rhythms learned on his travels. It’s not a pastiche, or an academic piece though, as it’s pulled together into something new and exciting. It’s jazz, but also more than that (because everything is jazz!).
Finally, here’s a photo I made…
Southampton docks, at night, on Kodak cinematic film.
‘I love words’ - August 2023 newsletter
About a gazillion years ago, I last sent out an email newsletter to an exclusive (it sounds better than ‘small’) number of subscribers. I stopped sending out newsletters as I got too busy to put the effort in to make it worth you reading.
But I miss sending them out, and there’s a chance one or two of you might miss reading them, so I’ve decided to get it going again.
The rejuvenated I love words will launch properly next month, but I’m sending you this ‘teaser’ to whet your appetite and answer a few questions you may or may not have.
Hang on, who are you?
That’s a fair question. After all, you could have signed up for this a long time ago and never got an email from me, so you’d be forgiven for not recognising my name in your inbox. I’m Jonathan. I’m a freelance writer and charity fundraiser. This newsletter is where I share my thoughts on writing and the charity world, recommendations of cultural or fundraising things you might enjoy, and other bits of news that may be of interest to you.
Didn’t this newsletter have a different name before?
Yes, it used to be called Words about Words. I’ve changed it because:
a) I love words ties in with the branding I’ve used elsewhere
b) changing the name feels like an opportunity to change the newsletter style a bit
and c) I kept seeing other websites or articles using the ‘words about words’ title.
What have you been up to?
In the gazillion years since the last edition of Words about Words, I’ve been working with some of my favourite charities to raise money to help families with life-threatened and life-limited children, people with cancer, disabled people, people with brain injuries or neurological conditions, and theatre makers creating plays accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people.
I’ve also written a book.
What’s the book about?
With Vicki Main, I’ve co-authored The Momentum Mindset: How to Overcome Your Inertia and Achieve an Incredible Life!
In the book, we share practical tools, strategies, and insights to help anyone, regardless of their circumstances, cultivate a winning mindset and take bold steps towards a more fulfilling life. With expert guidance, you can break free from limiting beliefs, fears, and self-doubt, and tap into your intrinsic motivators to build momentum and take inspired action towards living an incredible life.
Where can I buy The Momemtum Mindset?
Head over to govlm.com to get your copy today: LINK
Can I read an extract before I buy it?
Go on then. I’ll treat you. Here’s three snippets for your delectation:
How to overcome your inertia and get unstuck: LINK
Vicki and Jonathan’s razor: LINK
Radical incrementalism: LINK
Got anything else coming up?
Alongside Vicki, I’m co-hosting two events related to The Momentum Mindset that you are most welcome to attend:
‘How to self-publish a book’ - online masterclass, 18/09/23, £FREE: LINK
‘The Momentum Mindset’ - in-person masterclass at the Island Sailing Club, Cowes, 20/09/23, from £49: LINK
‘The Momentum Mindset’ - in-person workshop at The Design Chapel, Southampton, 22/09/23, from £20: LINK
Aren’t newsletters supposed to be shorter than this?
If you google ‘optimum email newsletter length’ you’ll get results telling you to aim for about 200 words. Apparently, any more than that and people will lose concentration.
I reckon you’ve got better attention skills than the average person, so I’m not too fussed about going longer providing the content is still worth reading. If you’ve got this far, thank you for proving me correct. If you’ve already gotten bored and stopped reading, then I, er, dunno…
When’s the next one of these being sent out?
I’m planning on sticking to my original schedule of monthly, sent on the last Thursday of each month.
Thanks for the update
No, thank you for reading. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and look forward to the next edition of I love words, coming in a month’s time.
Cheers,
Jonathan :-)
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ps… this is a slightly edited version of the email that subscribers receive. You can sign up using the box at the bottom of this webpage, or by following me on Substack: LINK
Radical incrementalism
[Here’s an extract from The Momentum Mindset, the book I’ve co-authored with Vicki Main…]
When climbers attempt to reach the summit of a large, tricky mountain, they rarely start at the bottom and head straight for the top in one go. Instead, the route is broken down into stages. The first stage might be the walk on the shallower, lower slopes. As the ground veers upwards and becomes a wall, they may clip on and start heading up. At regular points they will either loop their safety rope through a pre-laid anchor point, or attach a new one if it’s a previously unclimbed route. This is an opportunity to ease off, take a breather, and assess the best way to tackle the next section. On an especially long climb, they may even rig up a tent, attach it to the side of the mountain, and settle in for the night. By breaking the big ‘problem’ (how to get to the top) down into a series of smaller problems, they can devise a series of smaller, sequential solutions.
This approach - breaking a big problem down into bite-size chunks - is not unique to climbing. It’s a sound, tried and tested approach that most will already be familiar with. In the business world, radical incrementalism refers to deliberately taking small steps, rather than trying to reach your ultimate goal in one big leap. This can be more sustainable, as you don’t overextend yourself financially and allow time to develop your products, services, or business systems more carefully. Over time, each of these small steps adds up to significant progress. What is less well known, however, is that in addition to being an effective method of completing a project, it may also have a positive effect on our mindset.
Robert Boice is a psychology professor who studied the writing habits of other college professors, to understand which routines and approaches were most successful. What he learned is that the most productive writers wrote in smaller chunks. Rather than chain themselves to the desk for hours on end, they wrote in small chunks, between ten minutes and four hours a day. Though each individual writing session was less productive, this lighter writing routine could be sustained for longer, with a more regular rhythm, resulting in greater productivity overall. Oliver Burkeman, a writer, highlighted Boice’s research in his book, Four Thousand Weeks, equating it with the concept of radical incrementalism.
Why does this approach work? Because it is less tiring, so can be continued for longer, and makes us feel good. If you break a project down into smaller tasks that can be completed at the rate of one a day, for example, you are giving yourself the opportunity to experience the feelings of success on a daily basis. Rather than defer the sense of accomplishment until the whole project is completed, you can get the dopamine hit of small victories every single day.
It also works because, until you reach the end of the whole project, you will always have something to start on the next day. The writer, Ernest Hemingway, is quoted as saying, ‘The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day […] you will never be stuck.’ By adopting the radical incrementalism approach to your work and personal goals, you get to finish each day feeling good about what you’ve achieved, and excited about tomorrow’s achievements.
[references: Robert Boice, How Writers Journey to Comfort and Fluency, Praeger, 1994; Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021.]
[Buy the book here: https://www.govlm.com/product/the-momentum-mindset/]
Vicki and Jonathan’s razor
[Here’s an extract from The Momentum Mindset, the book I’ve co-authored with Vicki Main…]
Hanlon’s razor, attributed to computer programmer Roger J. Hanlon, states:
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
It’s a fun philosophical approach, which can be useful to defuse problematic situations, but we prefer to approach life with a little more compassion, so we’ve edited it to provide a rule of thumb to follow when on your path to escape velocity:
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by an innocent mistake, or someone dealing with their own sh*t.
We like to work from the base assumption that people generally aren’t out to get you, or to make your life difficult. If they happen to cause you problems, it’s much more positive to assume that they did so either through an error on their part, or because they have something going on in their own lives that has caused them to behave in a way you perceive to be as bad. Please, cut your fellow humans some slack. Offer them help if you think they need it. And if they persist in making life difficult for you, then you can take a harder stance if you want.
[Buy the book here: https://www.govlm.com/product/the-momentum-mindset/]
How to overcome your inertia and get unstuck
[Here’s an extract from The Momentum Mindset, the book I’ve co-authored with Vicki Main…]
Consider this improbable, but illustrative scenario: you’ve glued your foot to a concrete block and now you can’t move. You’re not going to get anywhere fast, or build any kind of momentum, with such a hefty weight holding yourself back.
The cause of your inertia is clear (the massive concrete block stuck to your foot!). To rid yourself of the block and get moving again, you have three options:
1. Cut yourself free.
2. Pull hard.
3. Dissolve the glue.
The first option can work. Hack away at the concrete until you can move freely. The risk is some uncomfortable lumps of concrete remain stuck to your foot. You may not notice them at first, but they could cause problems eventually. Option two is the brute force approach. Don’t overthink things, just apply a lot of effort and get it done. It could work, but there’s a high probability that you’ll leave some skin behind.
Our preferred option is the final one. Take a moment to understand what it is that’s sticking you to the block, and find a solution that will dissolve the glue. It will leave both the block and you intact, but separate and able to go your own ways. It’s non-destructive and doesn’t result in any new problems. All you need to do is identify the glue, and then the solution to dissolve it. Once that’s achieved, you can get moving again and build momentum. In life, some jobs, relationships or personal circumstances are stickier than others. It may take a long time to work out how to dissolve the glue. This book will help you do that.
[Buy the book here: https://www.govlm.com/product/the-momentum-mindset/]
Buy ‘The Momentum Mindset’ online
The Momentum Mindset - the book I’ve co-written with Vicki Main, that offers advice on how to overcome your inertia and achieve an incredible life - is now available to buy online.
Head to https://www.govlm.com/product/the-momentum-mindset/ to buy your copy now.
Isle of Wight book launch, and a fundraising learning event
If you want to hear me talk about things, you've got two new opportunities to do so...
Cognitive bias in fundraising: the benefit of confronting your tendencies
A Chartered Institute of Fundraising Central South lunchtime learning event, Wed 12 July, 1230-1400, on Zoom.
https://lnkd.in/ehVfK7Ez
The Momentum Mindset: Isle of Wight book launch
Join Vicki Main and I for book chat and nibbles, Wed 2 August, 1800-2100, in The Woodvale Pub, Gurnard.
https://lnkd.in/eT_DdCqv
For both events, please sign up via the Eventbrite links above.
Thanks 😊
I’m going on tour!*
(*sort of)
My co-author, Vicki Main, and I are hosting a few launch events for our new book, The Momentum Mindset - How to Overcome Your Inertia and Achieve an Incredible Life.
You can join us for a drink and some book chat in Newcastle and Southampton (with other events to follow at a later date). Everyone is welcome.
Tickets are free, but please RSVP via Eventbrite, as the venues have a limited capacity and we need to know numbers. Just click on the relevant link below:
NEWCASTLE, Thursday 20th April, The Lit & Phil, 7:30pm
https://lnkd.in/ecAVctfm
SOUTHAMPTON, Tuesday 25th April, Design Chapel Southampton, 6:30pm
https://lnkd.in/epbEyh8G
We can't wait to see you there!
Coming soon: ‘The Momentum Mindset’
I’ve teased it for a while, but the book I’ve co-written with Vicki Main is coming very, very soon.
The Momentum Mindset: How To Overcome Your Inertia and Live an Incredible Life will be available to buy from the end of April. I’ll post more details about that when they’re confirmed, but in the meantime, here’s a heads up on the Southampton launch event…
Date: Tuesday 25th April
Time: 6:30-7:30pm
Location: The Design Chapel, Cemetery Road, Southampton Common
We'll probably have a welcome drink and some nibbles, and plenty of copies of the book to sell!
Keep an eye out for an Eventbrite link, coming soon, or drop me an email [hello at jonathansbean dot com] and I’ll make sure you get one.
I hope to see you there!
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ps: There'll also be Newcastle and London launch events…
I featured on a podcast!
Vicki Main, who I’m co-writing a book with, has a podcast she hosts alongside her coaching business (VLM Training & Coaching Specialists).
The ‘Get Unstuck Fast! Viscosity Podcast’ is a series of conversations with guests working across different sectors, living in different countries, but all sharing their stories about how they overcame difficulties and achieved the life they wanted.
The podcast and book cover similar ground, so I popped up to London to have a chat with Vicki in a podcasting studio and share my thoughts on the subject.
If you’d like to have a listen, visit the podcast website and add it to the podcast player of your preference: LINK
‘Immanuel’ by Matthew McNaught - my favourite book of 2022
My favourite book of 2022 was Immanuel by Matthew McNaught (another Southampton resident), published by Fitzcarraldo Editions (who consistently produce excellent books).
It's ostensibly an essay on the experience of a particular religious community and their shift from a relatively benign existence in Winchester, to becoming part of a radical, charismatic ministry in Nigeria.
But it's really about people, and it is this essential core of the book that makes it so compelling. It reflects on our need for belonging, the power that comes from being part of a 'super-organism', faith (and crises of faith), relationships, family, and how we might become blinded to the abuse of others when these human needs are manipulated.
That might seem like a heavy going topic, but it's no slog to read and carried by a lightness that comes from the author's open-hearted approach and, ultimately, love for his fellow humans who are at the centre of this work.
Buy it from your friendly, neighbourhood, independent bookshop, such as October Books in Southampton, Westbourne Bookshop, Medina Bookshop in Cowes, P & G Wells in Winchester, or Pigeon Books in Portsmouth.
I'm sure that if they don't have it in stock, they’ll be able to get it.
And if you'd rather go online, check out bookshop.org as you some of the money supports independent high street shops.
Finally, if you're keeping an eye on the pennies, ask your local library if they can get it in for you. You might have to wait a while, but it will be worth it.
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[This is an edited form of a post originally shared on LinkedIn]
I’m still here
I wonder how many blogs there are with a post like this one? The ‘Sorry I haven’t posted in a while’ post?
I’ve not posted here in some time. The short, simple explanation for this is that I’ve been busy! Here’s a quick run through of some of the professional highlights from the last few months:
Looking after a children’s hospice’s charitable trust donors.
Interim cover for an independent hospital charity.
Securing Arts Council England funding for innovative theatrical productions.
Fundraising for a barrier-free boating organisation.
Content writing for Lonely Goat Running Club.
Advice for smaller charities on how to get started with fundraising.
A review of a cancer research charity’s fundraising materials.
Co-writing a book.
All these roles have been great, but I’m particularly excited about the last one. With Vicki Main of VLM Training & Coaching Specialists, I’ve co-written a book. We’re in the final stages of tweaking and editing, and it will be ready for launch very soon.
I’ll say more in a future blog post (because there will be more!), but for now, watch this space…
The Way of the Runner - writing and running retreat, Devon, November 2021
Back in November, I headed off to Totnes to join the acclaimed writers, Adharanand Finn and Richard Askwith, for a running and writing retreat, alongside five other participants. I won’t go into detail about the retreat - as you can read about it on Adharanand’s website - other than to say that it was a wonderful weekend spent with like-minded strangers, in an incredible setting. I recommend it to all runners who write, and writers who run.
As part of the weekend, we were given the task to write about the run we did on the Saturday, up on Dartmoor. This is my effort…
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DARTMOOR, SENSORY MEMORY AND THE TRAIL RUNNER’S BURDEN
by Jonathan Bean
ARE YOU familiar with the surfer’s burden? The addiction that makes it difficult to do anything other than view the world through a surfing lens. It makes surfers feel they have to surf. If they’re anywhere near a decent beach, and the forecast indicates a favourable swell, they have to go. Not to do so would be to waste the waves, to waste the gift.
Granted, it’s not universal, and a beginner may equate surfing with little more than squeezing into a stale, damp wetsuit to get thumped in the head by wave after cold, grumpy, brown, Cornish holiday wave. Once the beginner has ascended to the level of basic competence and experienced the first glimpses of flow - literal, harmonious physics and hydrodynamics in action, but also the mental flow state - they risk being caught by the surfer’s burden. That brief moment where it all just clicks is enough to capture the new initiate for good.
Doubled over, laughing and heaving in oxygen, in a small Dartmoor car park, after one of the most affirming, vital runs I’ve ever had, I wondered if there was a trail runner’s burden. Once you’ve gone up, down, over and through the natural landscape, can you ever go back to striding on suburban streets?
Lydia said she loved watching me run as I looked to be having so much fun. She was right. I had a great time. But was that because of the novelty? It was a type of run I rarely get to experience, on new terrain, with a group that had come together for just this weekend. If I did this every day, would I have enjoyed it in the same way?
Committed trail runners often say they’d never run on road. It’s too boring, too flat, too monotonous. Personally, I don’t hold that to be true. The fewer external features there are, the sharper the focus on the internal challenge. I enjoy track racing as it strips the race back to the fundamentals of pure head-to-head competition. I’ve finished big city marathons and barely recalled the features of the route afterwards, as I didn’t notice them. They were incidental. A backdrop to the event rather than the definition of the event.
I wondered, are the road-eschewing trail runners drawn to the trails because they didn’t like roads to begin with, or has their benchmark of external interest been raised by the environment in which they run? Does a trail runner who lives at the foot of the mountain feel guilt if they opt to run on the road one morning, rather than the mountain? Would it feel like a waste to turn their back on the glories of nature in favour of man-made terrain? Where does their joy threshold lie? Can you tire of perfection?
Is paradise a burden?
I have lots of questions, but no answers. My mind was racing, bouncing between ideas.
Often, my thoughts wander on a run, especially when on familiar ground. I like that. It’s meditative and I enjoy spending time in my own head. This was a writing retreat, though, and I knew I’d be writing a piece in response to this run. With this in mind, I decided to pay attention and absorb everything. Nonetheless, my mind wandered during the drive up. How did the snails get stuck in the extractor vent in the bathroom? Had they crawled up there when small, then grown to the point where they could no longer descend through the grille, or had they fallen in from the outside? Did a bird drop them there?
Once out of the car and moving, my mind couldn’t wander. On the few instances it threatened to, the terrain interrupted. I have fallen over on flat runs, but the risk was higher here. A few minutes in, we reached Haytor and had the choice of climbing it. The part of the brain that exists to prevent death from misadventure fought with the rational. The granite is round, slippery and tall, but surely Adharanand wouldn’t take us here if it was dangerous. Right? In the event, ego won out. I didn’t want to be the person who stayed down.
Steps had been cut or worn into the rock. The altitude gained was mere metres, yet we ascended into the underside of a cloud and stood in the way of the wind as it harried and tilted trees. Everything that grows here must broker a deal with the wind. You can live here, as long as you remain short and slanted.
Back off the summit and below the weather, we made our own headwinds, racing down, losing height, gaining speed, cadence doubling, field of vision narrowing. Think fast, run faster, hope for the best. The view would have been incredible, looking over hills and out to sea, but at speed it was a blur glimpsed through wind-forced tears.
During slower, calmer moments of rest and regrouping we could raise our gaze and drink in the wide expanse of moorland we were part of. I tried to think how I’d describe the terrain in terms of watercolours, to commit it to memory. Burnt umber and sienna for the bracken. Black mud, not brown. Vermillion. Would the pony be inked in white, or masked to show the base colour of the paper? Stray bramble branches or sharply angled rocks quickly broke such chains of thought.
I didn’t take photos, and that’s OK. There’s no need for me to recall the view in precise, panoramic, technicolour detail as plenty of others have done so on Dartmoor. Besides, sensory memory is stronger than visual and I know how it felt.
I’m confident a sensation this strong will stay with me. The immediate afterglow may fade, and new emotions and memories will be layered over the top, but it will always be there.
It’s true of other experiences. Even if the set-list is forgotten, a gig is remembered as sound, light, heat, colour, strobes, sweat, bass and emotion. The music is absorbed into our cells. Just listening to house music when washing up can transport me to the South of France, dancing to Laurent Garnier on the beach.
In the same way, Dartmoor is part of me now. As much as I’d like to run on Dartmoor every day, I don’t need to. The sensory memory is there, ready to be triggered by a hill, the wind, or a suburban Southampton puddle. To me, this is what magic is.
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You can read this piece, as well as those by Adharanand Finn, Gavin Boyter, Heath Buck, Lydia Thomson, Nigel Crompton and Nigel Harding, on The Way of the Runner blog.