Playaway

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

Picasso was a chap who wrote a lot of terribly useful quotes about creativity. Apparently he also knocked up the odd canvas or two but I'm not sure if he was terribly successful in those endeavours or matched the success of his perfumier daughter.

Thinking on the same vein, Martha Beck in the Joy Diet, argues that 'play' is something we as adults should ensure we don't forget the value of. Play is how a child learns. Rolling the ball teaches that round things ... well, roll. Simple stuff. Play is what differentiates us from our animal cousins. They stop playing and just get bigger and stronger. We keep playing and learning and forming our minds. We get clever. What we mustn't do though is ever stop playing.

You know she's right and I've had the perfect experience of this. I've been playing at writing a novel. Yes, you are permitted to pick yourself up from the floor. I have finally begun what I've been wittering on about all year. I am taking my barely formed novel concept and giving it some substance. I'm switching between modern day London and LA to a magical land that exists (somehow, don't ask for exact details please) in parallel to our own. My characters are dusting off their cobwebs, pulling on some fine clothing and getting to know each other (they don't all get along too well just yet). The shock of the whole experience has even seen one poor Elf's hair be shot through with a silver streak!

As participant in NaNoWriMo I have been instructed to banish my inner critic and get words onto pages. I'm not to worry about it being any good. I just have to write a 50,000 word story. It's about play. It's about practice. How can I ever expect to write a publishable piece, let alone Pullitzer Prize winning novel with my first attempt? I'd have to be some kind of freak genius which I am well aware I'm not. So, we don't worry about publication. We don't even have to show anyone else what we've written. We just play.

And do you know what? It's actually rather fun! Take away your inner critic, the voice of reason, the need for a market, possibility of a multi-million dollar screenplay and a film starring George Clooney and just let go and write a story. Takes me back to primary school where we wrote stories for the fun of it and illustrated them with little bunnies and squirrels dressed in pinafores!

No animals in costume so far in my book (but I wouldn't rule them out - you never know what direction my imagination might choose to head in).

NaNoWriMo, aside from being an intensely irritating acronym to type, is my route to finding out if I have the bones of a novel in me and more importantly the real desire to become a novelist. As Martha so wisely writes "when we know we're playing a game, we're less attached to the outcome". If this novel turns out to be a D minus then so be it. I'll learn from it and move onto the next one. I know I love writing, we'll just see if that actually extends to novels too. Stay tuned and we'll find out.

OK, to finish up a little something for British readers of a certain age - check out that Playaway poster up top, team portrait below and the names starring alongside the legend that is Brian Cant... They didn't amount to much did they?

And now for a spot of playful nostalgia?