My Adventures in Writing - The Reawakening
As a brand that relies on a dual working philosophy, House of Serendipity CA depends on both the visual and verbal means to express itself through its products. Today, we will be taking a behind the scenes look at how the company came to rely on the written word to develop its working philosophy and to create some of its product lines. We will be exploring this concept through a book review of one of my favorite books in my library, This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett.
I have always been interested in writing. As a matter of fact, with a background in journalism I was used to churning out various writing pieces on deadline. I had even been published before and had gotten somewhat comfortable with seeing my name in print in the bylines. However, once I entered the working world again that would change. I developed my own little writer’s block and ended up not wanting to write for years.
My writer’s block was not helped by my job situation. I had always expected that my career would involve a lot of writing. I had hoped that I would have plenty of opportunities to practice and display my writing skills on the job. Alas, it was not be. I ended up in a job that offered little opportunity to flex my creative skills and even less of my writing abilities. My writing and creative capabilities were put on the backburner at work and I ended up not writing anything of substance for years.
All of that would change when several years ago, I happened to pick up a book by the American author Ann Patchett. Ms. Patchett is well-known for her books in the fiction genre with novels such as the State of Wonder, The Patron Saint of Liars, the award-winning Bel Canto, Commonwealth and now The Dutch House, a Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She has also written several notable works of non-fiction such as Truth & Beauty and This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage. It was the latter book that I happened to pick up while I was strolling through a downtown bookstore in the city. This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage is a collection of non-fiction essays that Ms. Patchett has written about the various aspects of her life.
As I poured through the book and combed through the chapters, I could sense that I was entering a world that was familiar and resonated with me. The first story in the book that caught my attention was an essay on Ms. Patchett’s days as a writer at Seventeen and other magazines. Having a background in magazine writing myself, I was intrigued and comforted by the familiar elements of that world including its relatively fast-paced work environment, deadlines for submissions and magazine article word counts. Titled “Nonfiction, An Introduction”, this essay gave me enough encouragement to wonder whether I could pick up a pen and start to write again.
Sprinkled throughout the book are also some marvelous essays regarding the development of Ms. Patchett’s relationship with her husband Karl VanDevender and her dog, Rose. These are the types of essays that also makes the reader reflect on their own relationships and its evolutions as well as the various variables that exist in many relationships, including the concepts of responsibility and commitment.
Another favorite topic of mine in the book is the author’s multi-faceted relationship with books. Whether it is the writing process involved in her own novel, the moment that an editor had first bought the rights to her novel The Patron Saint of Liars, a behind the scenes look at one of her book tours in support of her latest published book or her journeys as the co-owner of an independent book store called Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee, she reveals a life filled and fulfilled by books in many ways in her collection of essays.
Ultimately, it was this collection of short stories and essays that examines the matters of the mind and heart and even enables the reader to join in for some moments of self-reflection themselves, that awakened something within me and pushed me to pick up a pen and a piece of paper to write again. It reminded me why I enjoy the process of writing and still do so much. And that was no small feat considering how far removed I had become from the world of writing.
This renewed interest in writing would also eventually lead me to the decision to create some products for my brand that would involve the written word. Not satisfied with just creating some greeting cards where I could add some captions to the card, I pushed myself to think more creatively about developing products that featured the written word in a more imaginative way. Eventually, I decided to create my quote cards collection which showcased some written words that expressed a sentiment or feeling or captured a moment in time. This little addition made me feel as if though I had come full circle on one of my little writing journeys and thus, I would now be able to express myself more fully through my brand.
Eiko