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01 November 2023

Posted by By Carla Hall

Tactfully bold

Carla Hall: Breakthrough Apprentice


Hello, I’m Carla, one of Artswork’s Breakthrough Apprentices for Autumn 23’. I’m a writer who’s been paired with ArtfulScribe to help with all things admin, social media and marketing.


There is a print that sits on the office window, ‘O let us be  let us be  let us be bold’ by Elizabeth Jane Burnett - I see it every time I sit at my desk. I’ve been thinking a lot about this, especially how one can be tactfully bold in a new environment. By tactfully bold, I mean having an awareness of the space required for confidence.


When asked to set my intentions, in this blog and this phase of my creative journey, I can think of no better direction than to be tactfully bold. 


The summer of 2023 was a strange one for me. I had recently graduated from the University of Southampton after studying an MA in Creative Writing and I didn’t know what to do next. I’d attended a career’s event in the February of that year, and ArtfulScribe director Matt West was one of the speakers. At the time I was still too afraid to pursue writing as a career, but I dropped Matt a line and asked if I could shadow a workshop based on writing for queer joy, led by Ri Baroche and CJ Turner. Through this workshop I learned that writing for and in the queer community was a route that interested me. 


In the ArtfulScribe office, Matt casually offers droplets of wisdom. One that has stuck with me already and has proven to be sewn into the seams of ArtfulScribe’s work is, ‘at the heart of it, writing is about people.’ This is a good reminder that the work we do is more than a task to be completed. I believe that the end goal is about connecting writers to communities that make themselves feel seen and their work acknowledged.


Over the next six months I hope to: understand more about the administrative process involved in a literature development agency; understand how social media and marketing can connect writing communities together; develop my writing skills through blog posts and short form copy. 


I believe that by the end of this six month programme, my increased awareness of these skills will encourage me to be bold and confident in my writing, and my future. 


Until next month,


Carla.


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