Twenty-eight years ago, Felicity Martin made a momentous decision. One that many of us dream about but rarely follow through. In mid-career, she left her secure office job in order to pursue a life of writing, photography, and outdoor exploration.
I first met Felicity at an online Society of Authors event for writers in Scotland. Felicity lives in Perthshire, north of my location in the Scottish Borders; and, looking at the map, Edinburgh appears to be equidistant. I was struck by Felicity’s keen enthusiasm for her work as a writer and her observations during the seminar made an impact on me.
I’ve since got to know Felicity through her Substack, ‘Our Natural Place’, and she kindly gave me more background to her writing life.
A Change of Lifestyle
On making her professional pivot she said, ‘With enough money left to keep me going for a couple of years if I lived frugally, I handed in my notice. The hardest thing was telling other people, including my mother. But no one tried to deter me.’
In fact, many of her work colleagues said they wished they had had the courage to do the same! There was no safety net, no fallback plan. Felicity just believed she was doing the right thing for her. Sometimes you just have to jump, don’t you, otherwise you spend the rest of your life wondering, what if?
I asked, how did you develop your skills and build your new business? Felicity said she joined the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild not only to network and learn but to combat the loneliness of freelance work. The task was to develop her understanding of the natural world and the business world simultaneously.
This conversation is part of an ongoing series exploring how writers develop practices around place, landscape, and belonging. If you’re working in this territory, I’d love to hear about your approach.
Place Writing
Felicity’s approach to Place Writing is deeply layered. She said, ‘I am fascinated by what determines the physical qualities of a place. So I like to understand its underlying geology and the natural forces that have shaped its geography and wildlife. Then to layer on top what people have done to it over the centuries, up to the present day.’
This method sets a foundation for work that lends itself to story-making, building from the ground up through human history and culture, to produce writing that’s technically strong and rich in narrative.
A Daily Discipline
Back in 2018, Felicity began writing 750 words every morning using the ‘750 Words’ journalling website. I was blown away when I heard about this daily practice and asked if she ever varied the word count. And, what would happen if she missed a day?
‘This winter,’ she said, ‘while not travelling and recording my experiences, I’ve been writing between 200 and 500 words… but sometimes up to 1000 when there are places or ideas to explore.’
Being flexible with the word count, allowing it to change depending on the time available and whether there’s much on her mind, Felicity is not ruled by routine, rather the practice serves her purpose.
Now using Scrivener for her journalling, this morning practice has become her thinking space where she works through creative blocks, where intentions form, and where she asks herself why she’s not managing to do what she set out to do.
What matters is the daily commitment.
‘It’s a mix of journal, diary and [a] place to think things through’, Felicity said. ‘I normally write in bed first thing in the morning, before all the distractions of the day.’ And if she misses a day, she said, ‘If I need to get up quickly, I write in the evening or make two entries the next day.’
This discipline isn’t about perfection. What matters is showing up.
In this Substack we celebrate the art and craft of Place Writing. Join our friendly group of subscribers to be informed and inspired. We appreciate creative writing, intelligent conversation, and considered reflections on Nature, Home, and Place. Upgrade if you want to take your writing to the next level.
The Biggest Challenge
Felicity said, ‘I have found it hardest to move from “business” writing to a freer, more imaginative flow.’
This is a struggle we have in common.
For me it was management reports and articles for trade journals; for Felicity it was decades of guidebook writing. All of which requires concise accurate writing—it’s hard to break out from such a controlled writing regimen.
This will resonate with many writers who have come to creative work after careers in business professions. Developing new ways to approach your writing, and introducing elements of imagination and emotion into it, is probably one of the biggest challenges to becoming a creative writer.
Writing As Advocacy
Felicity’s recent work grapples with urgent contemporary issues: ‘The “new green lairds” buying up much of Scotland concern me,’ she said. ‘Some of their “rewilding” projects are helping to restore nature, but many are detrimental to local communities who have no control over what happens to “their” land.’ And ‘the race for new wind farms is proving particularly harmful for people and wildlife.’
Feeling an obligation to highlight these issues, Felicity’s writing is informed by her ecological understanding and motivated by her personal responsibility to the landscape.
‘I am part of the natural world, which sustains all life,’ she said, ‘and I respect every element of it.’ And Substack has provided ‘a space to write about what interests me and the incentive to produce a piece weekly.’
Felicity hopes her readers will ‘grow their understanding of how everything in nature is inter-connected.’ And I, for sure, will continue reading her Substack posts to learn more about the Scottish countryside, its wildlife and its ecology.
Two Questions For Your Practice
What urgent issues in your landscape demand attention?
What obligation do you feel to highlight them?
As always, I look forward to chatting in the comments!
Credits, Notes and Links
Images above are courtesy of Felicity Martin.
Subscribe to Felicity’s Substack, ‘Our Natural Place’ here.
The Society of Authors can be found here.
Here’s the link to The Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild.
The journalling website 750 words has been going strong since 2010.
This is beautiful reflective writing. I appreciate being introduced to both Felicity and to 750 words! Thank you Yasmin.
Thanks for the restack Jon. I hope you enjoyed reading the post!