PSYCHIC GEOGRAPHY
A brown teapot. The crunch of a foot on crisp frosty grass. The whale hanging from the ceiling at the Natural History Museum. The album Melodrama by Lorde. Mojitos. Fingers sinking into bread dough. A shiny red pepper grinder.
What’s your ‘psychic geography’?
It’s Livia again, here with another blog. We recently had our first Young Playwrights workshop, with the amazing playwright Barney Norris. Our first activity of the workshop was to look inside ourselves, as to what images and feelings are in us all the time: the world you see when you close your eyes, or, your psychic geography.
Our workshop with Barney
I was surprised that so much of what was coming to my mind was really domestic and homey. But when I think about it, it isn’t so surprising after all. I grew up in the countryside, really close with my family, and I am realising so much of what I think of as intrinsically myself comes from experiences I share with them. It’s probably also influenced by the fact that as I was doing this activity I was away from them – which always brings things closer to the front of your mind. I’m approaching my 18th birthday, which, as far as I can remember, will be the first one I haven’t spent with parents. I don’t know how I feel about it to be honest, not sad, just… weird. Either way, it’s something that certainly brings memories of home to the surface. Now I’ve become more aware of what an important role my own upbringing has on me as a person and a writer, I feel inspired to perhaps explore this directly in my own writing.
My birthday last year
It’s important to learn about yourself, when writing. Everything comes from you, after all. So, you have got to give time to get to know what makes you tick, what is important to you, what’s going on inside your head. Barney’s workshop was really good at highlighting this important side of writing. It can be easy to jump on an idea or concept without stopping to think about why it’s important to you, or what connection you have to it. By focussing on getting to know yourself, and the things that interest and inspire you, you can then look outward to the world around you. Everyone has a story to tell; I guess it is just a matter of finding out what yours is. Personally, there is something really valuable in giving time to this. I think, for me at least, it can be really easy to invalidate your own thoughts and experiences, as boring or ordinary or whatever. But some of my favourite stories are about everyday experiences and ordinary people. These can be the most exciting things to read. I guess it’s one of those things that is easy to apply to everyone else, and hard to turn back on yourself.
But, actually, my favourite part of the activity was the way that as a group it helped us get to know each other. Me, Naomi, Eilidh and Erin are new to each other, and spending a couple of hours getting to know them in this way was super exciting to me. I also think it will be really valuable to the four of us going forward, as we know each other more closely and can work together really well. It’s not often within the first few times of meeting someone you learn about their old job on a caravan park or the playlist they made with their best friend. It just reminds me how unique and exciting this experience is as we can build our skills and grow together. I am delighted to have such a special group of cool young women to be doing this with!
Livia Nicholson
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