Rhian Healy: Thanks KSP

This is my first residency so I was unsure of what to expect.

Overall it was both exhilarating and terrifying. Exhilarating because you are being trusted to write (on your own terms with no expectations from outside) and have the freedom to work on any project that you want. Terrifying because you are being trusted to write and have the freedom to work on any project you want.

When I sat down on the first afternoon, after settling into the accomodation I thought about what I wanted to achieve and how I would go about achieving it. In my regular life writing is done in those moments between other duties. Here writing would be the main duty. This creates a measure of pressure on your writing practices because you want to utilise the time effectively. That is the terrifying thing.

So I set myself some goals that I thought would be achievable, and started working towards them. I soon realised that I had been too ambitious and needed to adjust my goals to something more workable that wouldn’t make me feel like I’m failing. Once I had worked that out, I felt much better about my time and actually increased my productivity.

Overall, I was very happy with my work output during the residency. It wasn’t the goal that I started with but it was a more sustainable achievement. I will go back to ‘real life’ with a new belief in myself and the foundation for further productive achievements. Thanks KSP

Top 10 tips:

1. Get to know the fellow fellows

2. Have some non-creative outlet (for me that was my set of dumbbells I could use when inspiration fled)

3. Set small manageable goals

4. Break up the day into smaller manageable chunks

5. Take some time out of your cabin to refresh and recharge.

6. Check out the quendas and birdlife – its much easier to reset your priorities when you watch them.

7. Go for a hike in John Forrest national park (walking distance)

8. Join one of the writing groups

9. Sit outside in the morning with your coffee.

10. If all else fails, the bees are good listeners.

Rhian Healy - KSP Fellow, Feb-Mar 2023