emergence
/ɪˈməːdʒ(ə)ns/
1.
the process of becoming visible after being concealed."
2.
the process of coming into existence or prominence.
My brain has this way of ambushing me, and suddenly pouncing with crazy ideas like these… I’ve been pondering for a while how I might get back into the habit of writing, and at the same time becoming painfully aware of how much illustrated stories inspire me, and also how much I want to just spend more time with these worlds inside my head. And suddenly today - right on the first of the month - it clicked: Why don’t I use the World Watercolour Month prompts and the act of painting daily in combination with Camp Nano? Camp Nano is the smaller version of Nanowrimo - the National Novel Write Month in November where writers across the world aspire to write 50,000 words in one month. For Camp Nano in July, everyone can set their own goal but still benefit from this communal challenge.
And so, here is the challenge I’ve put to myself:
For the month of July 2022, I aspire to draw / paint something every month that is inspired by the World Watercolour Month prompt for that day, and then to use that painting to write 500 words in continuation of a single story. The process might be flipped around, but basically to paint and write with the focus on a single story throughout the course of the month. If I don’t make this every day, that’s okay. If my Writer’s Mind really wants to detour into what could seem like a completely different story or tangent, that’s okay too. But I need to set this lofty goals because I’ve found that it greatly inspires me and usually turns out a lot better than I might expect.
So what you can expect to find here is the emergence of that journey. To see what I’ve come to call as my “Writer’s Mind” calls forth, daily updates (hopefully) on the journey - bad lighting or “imperfect'“ writing all included. So expect to see spelling mistakes, plot holes, things that don’t make sense or don’t seem to hang together at first… But hopefully also a ton of intrigue, fun and especially the authenticity of a Creative finding her way amongst the many ideas and aspirations in her head. Oh, and a little debrief of the painting process too - which is likely to be stolen snippets of time while my little ones (ages 5 and 3) play, as it’s currently school holidays and they’re home with me.
Here’s the summary of the prompts for World Watercolour Month. You can also find more info on what this is all about at their official website: https://doodlewash.com/