We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gay Walley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gay, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I follow ideas down rabbit holes, don’t dismiss them till I really know they won’t work out. In other words, I have a great capacity for risk. Risking writing or making a film that may not work but I have to do it to find out if it will work or not. I don’t pre-judge things. Sometimes projects reveal they can’t work and then I drop them, but if I retain enthusiasm, even while clear the project still may not work, I carry on. Part of that is that I enjoy making something. I enjoy trying new things, I often explore new styles, new mediums so as to keep fresh. Keeping fresh, in other words, keeps my own fascination alive. I like to be surprised when I am in a project. I have had 9 novels published, one play produced in UK, and made 2 films. I am currently working on a new book which I am not too sure about, but I want to see if I CAN make it work. I sometimes think my capability of withstanding the unknown, risk, failure, rejection is having had much of that as a child and even then I kept my psyche “warm,” so to speak, with my “projects.” I have continued the “medicine” that got me through the hardships of my childhood (an abandoning mother and other things.) Creativity became my preferred home. And still is. I also have a fulsome imagination, and I think this stems from childhood again, where I sat alone at bars with my father and watched people. There was not much else for me to do so I took in my surroundings, as children do, and it was kind of like growing up in a theatre. This fascination for people stayed with me. Thirdly, I think I like to create because it is a way of sharing and communicating what matters. I am not so interested in recipes or how someone’s trip was, but I am interested in what people feel, what they wrestle with, what they overcome. I can stay in the realm of what matters to me by being in creative conversations which lead to creative projects.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My whole life is about writing. I teach writing workshops, I edit, and I ghostwrite, I love teaching since I get such happiness seeing people create and find themselves improving as writers, as they explore their work. I have found that people get happier and more at peace when having a creative life. In addition to that, I always make time for my own projects. You ask what my brand is… I guess it is helping others realize their own creative gifts, as I continually am working on mine.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I would say to be a good writer, first, you must be a voracious reader of all kinds of literature so you educate yourself to know “the real thing.” I would advise you to read as much as you can so you have something to say. I was a reader from an early age and still am (although the phone and the news have lessened this, much to my chagrin but i believe in Henry James edict, Let nothing be lost upon you.” Second, i would advise write. Make it a discipline. Write every day if only for 5 minutes, because your unconscious will then begin to be your ally. So, as brushing your teeth is an activity you take for granted you do daily, the same goes for your own writing. Thirdly, join or create a writing group because you will get valuable feedback and see where you can improve things. And you will benefit from the “shop talk,” among your peers.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
You asked what is my biggest challenge and how do I try to overcome it. I will explain it. I am a person who believes that if life opens a door, go through it. See your friends. Have a love affair. Take divine invitations. Be connected. This keeps the mind alive and stimulates new ideas. But it also conflicts with the solitude and free time needed to do your work. It’s a continual challenge. The answer is to be an elastic. Find a way to get it all in. Be efficient with your time. Artists have to give up some things to be able to stay attuned to one’s work, but i don’t believe this includes friends, adventures, music, or whatever gives you pleasure because that expands your energy which then goes into your work. So i guess my answer to this challenge is to cultivate patience and elasticity so you can fit the whole banquet of life in.
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