Holding the Creative Center, Book Cover Tweaks, and Ancient Artifact of the Month
Plus a creative writing prompt at the end.
While we’re focusing outward, how can we hold onto the calm, interior solitude from which we make our art?
Holding the Creative Center
When I was a kid, we would visit Canobie Lake Park, a family-owned amusement park which still exists in Salem, NH. Back then, it had an old-style Funhouse with amusements not unlike in this video from Luna Park in Sydney, Australia:
My favorite was the turntable (or “Joy Wheel,” as it’s apparently called). The goal was to sit in the middle and be the last to be flung off by the power of centrifugal force. I was really good at it, picking my spot nearest the center, anchoring my body with flat palms and strong legs.
But holding the center is more than a game. In this modern world where everyone is an entrepreneur, we are all flinging ourselves outward, trying to hit our mark and make a big splash. For artists, writers, and other creators, that means our energy is dissipated. While we’re focusing outward, how can we hold onto the calm, interior solitude from which we make our art?
Why do I mention this? Truth be told, the minute I sent out the cover reveal for AKMARAL at the beginning of this month, I left my computer in our rental cottage in Maine to go kayaking. I needed to escape to nature where everything slows down and I can focus. For a couple of hours, I just paddled and drifted, listening to the lapping waves, the wind, the slicing of my paddles through the water. It brought me back to myself and gave me room to think thoughts beyond promote-promote-promote….
It’s truly against most writers’ very nature to constantly be putting ourselves “out there” when, creatively, we need to focus deeply inward. But that is what is expected of writers today. We can no longer sit up in our chilly garrets simply listening for the muse. While writing is an art, publishing is a business. And if we want people to know about our books, we have to make noise.
One kind fellow author reminded me that all of this is temporary—a necessary ill that comes along with the honor and opportunity of having a book published. I know what he said was true. And I’ve committed myself to the challenge. But I’ve often compared promoting a book to standing in Times Square on New Year’s Eve shouting into the crowd. (Been there. Done that. Never doing it again!) I’m grateful to all of you for listening to my feeble cries in this very overcrowded literary world.
But more than simply muscling myself to stay at the hub of the “Joy Wheel” with all its excitement, I look forward to returning to that elusive place of center and calm where creativity can thrive.
And then…. Book Cover Tweaks
About two weeks ago—yes, after I’d revealed AKMARAL’s cover—my publisher reached out to say that they were doing some tweaks. Of course, I panicked. Cover design is a huge issue and rarely do authors and publishers agree on a “vision” for the book. (And, most of the time, authors have very little say.) I decided to stay calm, because no one wants to be the author they gripe about in the back office. But many of you had already shared how much you loved the original cover. THANK YOU, because I sent my publisher what several of you had said. A little back and forth, and I think we came out with an improvement. It’s subtle, but here’s the primary adjustment:
The horse is in profile and the central warrior silhouette is bigger, but I particularly like that she’s carrying a bow and arrows, rather than a spear. For women warriors, the short, recurve bow gave them equal power and agility in battle on horseback, as you’ll see in this amazing video:
As for that tall thing on the silhouetted warrior’s head, it looks odd, but it’s actually fairly accurate to the archaeology. Here are a few examples of traditional Scythian head-gear:
The second image from the left is a headdress that figures prominently in AKMARAL:
And so… Ancient Artifact of the Month
Since I was planning to start an “Artifact of the Month” feature for the newsletter, let this be the first. The headdress above is from the Golden Man of Issyk burial, discovered in 1969 in Kazakhstan. Besides the remarkable headdress and the glittering golden plaques on the burial vest, I was intrigued by the speculation that the “Golden Man” might actually have been a woman. There wasn’t enough viable DNA left to test, so we may never know the truth. But, thanks to the liberty of fiction, my titular character Akmaral was inspired in part by this possibility.
Creative Writing Prompt: Memory Matrix
I started teaching my memoir class at The Writers Circle this week with an exercise to help everyone dig up memories from the depths. For me, memory is like a photo album. I can see exactly where I was, from my five-year-old shared bedroom (where I taped down a line to separate my side from my sister’s because she’d drawn in one of my books!) to the place I was getting coffee on 42nd and 6th when I first learned about the attacks on 9/11. But for some people, memory is elusive. So I like to start with a simple grid.
First, list AGE RANGES in five year increments on the left column. Then put the very first thought that comes to mind beside each. It can be something simple like a favorite food, some music, or the name of your 4th grade teacher. (That’s one thing I don’t remember, but maybe you do!) Then pick the age and memory that most attracts you. Start adding columns for PEOPLE: who else was there with you when you were eating that Kraft macaroni-and-cheese? (Lainey, Debbie, and Nadine.) Add new columns for TIME and PLACE. (After school, on Debbie’s front step, sitting in the spring sunshine.) Dig deeper for MOOD. (Happy, laughing, feeling grown-up.) And REALIZATION. (This was the first time we’d cooked it ourselves.) Realization can be a hard one. Why do I remember this memory? What does it mean to me? Maybe it’s not even an important memory—just a snapshot from the back of my mind to pick up and play with.
Whatever you scrounge up, no matter how sepia and faded, start writing and see how many little details you can add to help bring the moment back to life.
Final Thought: Embracing the Unknown in Creativity and Life
“Creativity comes out of not knowing what you’re doing. If you know what your next work is going to look like before you do it, it’s just a bad habit. Life should never be a bad habit. ” – Duane Michals, 91yo photographer
Thank you, everyone, for your support. And to my paid subscribers, you are ANGELS!
Forthcoming by Judith Lindbergh
AKMARAL: a nomad woman warrior on the ancient Asian steppes must make peace with making war - May 7, 2024 from Regal House Publishing
“Magically immersive…. You will smell the sweat of the horses and feel the ache of a warrior who is also a mother and a lover. AKMARAL transported me, night after page-turning night, to a world I would never have been able to experience otherwise.”
—Barbara Quick, author of Vivaldi’s Virgins and What Disappears
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and GoodReads. (I'm also on Twitter/X, but not often.) Or visit judithlindbergh.com.
Love the new cover!
Thank you for sharing all of this with us, particularly the details that you like about the new cover. I really struggle with getting information from visuals rather than words (which poses an interesting challenge / opportunity for me in my new life as an older grad student in Visual and Critical Studies!!) and it honestly took me a minute to even see the difference in the covers. I think I tend to get impressions rather than details. Your additional notes about it made me not only be able to look closer but also made me appreciate the nuances in the story. Love it. <3 <3