Monday 5 August 2013

Beginnings and Endings

Sark.  Photo by Roger Hyland

I have come to the conclusion that there are no beginnings or endings, simply a continual passage of time, which I used to see as linear, then circular and, finally, as a figure of eight - the infinity symbol, moving back and forth between past and present into the future...

I like to play with this concept when I write.  Beginnings are always scary but exhilarating.  A bit like a plane taking off.  The start of the journey into the unknown. Endings are different.  They need to be satisfying, both to write and for the reader.  They don’t need to tie up all the loose ends, because life isn’t like that.  And when you think you have finished, you often find that the perfect ending is actually the perfect beginning.  And vice versa. 

I use this idea when I teach creative writing workshops.  It encourages fluidity; an open-minded approach to the creative process and the realisation that it is organic.


Elastic infinity (photo by Jane Ayres)




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