An award-winning and internationally published author, Simmone Howell has used the ritual practice of journalling throughout her career to inform her fiction and non-fiction writing.
Her debut Notes from the Teenage Underground won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and her co-authored novel Take Three Girls (with Fiona Wood and Cath Crowley) won the 2017 CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers. She is also a non-fiction author, holds a PhD in Creative Writing and teaches across universities.
Writers Victoria’s Amelie Hughes recently spoke with Simmone, providing a glimpse into her own practices and her upcoming workshop Creative Journalling: A Forest of Things.
There are different methods of journalling, and what works for one person might not for someone else. I always think flow can only happen once you start. So, maybe you’re journalling to move what’s inside the brain onto the page, or to pay attention to the world around you (the more you notice, the more you notice …). I use my journal as a place of practice. I might be trialing a character’s voice, or be writing in circles, trying to figure out what I actually want to say. I have always held the opinion that the notebook is a writer’s most important tool. It serves so many different functions. I also like that the journal becomes an artifact, evidence of a stretch of time and feeling.
Has journalling, collaging or zine-making been influential to your work?
My current work-in-progress features two young ‘makers’. I have used collage, fragments, scraps and sketches to understand their character and motivation. It’s a bit meta because the characters use similar methods to help process their reality. My novels, in some sense, reflect my journals – there is often inter-textual material: in Girl Defective, one character’s voice is only shown through his amateur ‘crime reports’, in Notes from the Teenage Underground, the main character Gem also included her brief attempts at screenplay, in Take Three Girls, the three characters are all forced to keep journals for their school’s ‘wellness’ program, and ‘wellness’ timesheets’. All my non-fiction/memoir writing has also started as scrawls on a page.
I have always held the opinion that the notebook is a writer’s most important tool. – Simmone Howell
What has inspired your journalling/visual art practice recently?
I’ve been spending a bit of time on Substack, reading articles/notes by writer/illustrators who often come from a comics background. I love the gaps and digressions in comics/graphic fiction/non-fiction – often the work is nonlinear, and I feel like it matches the way we encounter the world (everything all at once). Some of my favourites are The Habit of Art by Kelcey Ervick,Slowpoke by Carson Ellis, and Eloise in Space by Eloise Grills.
For people with little artistic experience, how do you recommend they approach the visual elements of multimedia?
Years ago, I saw Jeff Kinney (author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid) give a talk – he did some live cartooning to show how something as simple as changing the eyebrows could shift the whole tone. I love how simple those stick figures are – and I think art can be friendly, and wonky and playful. For many people, especially older generations, we got talked or shamed out of creativity at an early age. I think we should all be able to access it, to spend time with colours and shapes and patterns, thinking about what we like and don’t like. Collage is great for that.
As an active Substack writer, what do you think writers can benefit from finding less formal and traditional outlets of writing?
It frees you up, allows you to try different things, and get an immediate response. I often find it inspiring to see other people’s work – and working out. While we are still at the mercy of the dreaded algorithm, I do get a sense of community building on Substack. To me, the main advantage is that you don’t have to wait forever to release something or for someone else to validate your work. I have always been a fan of zines and DIY media – Substack feels like a return to blogging: less competition, more sharing.
What learnings can participants expect to take with them from your workshop?
I’m going to:
- Lead participants through creative exercises that I’ve found helpful for setting and worldbuilding in fiction and nonfiction
- Share the work of some of my art and writing heroes
- Talk about my own experience of developing a writing practice – what’s worked, what hasn’t – I’ve been working as a writer for thirty years in all kinds of capacities …
- We will also write and share some short pieces – fragments, flash fiction/nonfiction with an eye on what could potentially be developed into something bigger.
Inspired by Simmone to find your writing flow? Join her workshop Creative Journalling: A Forest of Things.