Icona

A few days ago I wrote a blog post about plot and immersive descriptions, and why a good novel should have a balance of both. It’s free to read. 😊

Here‘s a secret: you will never be fully ready to do the things that scare you. Don’t waste your life waiting for ideal conditions that never come. Write that novel now. Start that project today. It will never get easier, but you can choose to get braver.

I just wrote a Substack post about the YouTube channel I will be starting this summer. Let me know in the comments there if there is a particular type of video you would like from me. Thank you. 💛

I have a lot to say about how to read the Roman and medieval classics that may appear inaccessible, why artists need to study the Renaissance and learn about art history, and underrated beautiful museums in Italy. Perhaps I need a YouTube channel.

STEM and the arts are so often pitted against each other nowadays. It would seem nonsensical to Leonardo da Vinci, who was both an artist and an engineer. We need science to improve life, and art to give meaning to it. It’s a partnership, not a war.

If you want to be a writer, never stop reading. Pay attention to the words and phrases authors use. How do they make you feel? How does the author build tension and transition from one scene to the next? Ask questions, stay curious, and always keep learning.

I see too many online young artists who don’t study art history. They say using references is “cheating”, and don’t know that Titian used courtesans as models. They cannot recognise Renaissance symbolism. They don’t get that the humanities are vital.

You must never abandon hope. There was a time when so much of the beauty we have today — Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Saint Peter’s Basilica — could not even be imagined. We human beings can always, always build a better world.

C. S. Lewis said that art has always had to exist in the shadow of something more important. Humans have always created art amidst wars, struggles, and emergencies because they wanted beauty now and didn’t want to wait for perfect conditions that never come.

You won’t get to do everything you want to do. You have limited time and energy; acquiring skills and completing projects takes a lot of both. You must get to know yourself deeply enough to discern what is most essential to you, and focus on that.

I just published a Substack post (Recent Ruminations). Writing this book is taking up most of my time and energy, so this post is a short update, but it mentions some interesting Italian art and literature you might want to check out. It’s free to read. Link in bio!

Society tells us happiness comes from accomplishing our career goals. Personally, I was happiest as a teen in Italy wandering down the alleys of Venice, reading in cafes, looking at Titian paintings, enjoying what we call “dolce far niente” (the sweetness of doing nothing).

An artist will always have more ideas than finished works. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks are full of concepts that were never realised. What matters is your ability to choose which of your ideas deserve your time and energy, and the skill with which you execute them.

I went to my father’s house near Venice and saw his books on Renaissance art, Catholic icons (my parents named me “Icona”, the Italian word for “icon”) and Italian literature, and realised how deeply they shaped me. The books your children grow up surrounded by matter. 💛

Every time I visit my parents near Venice I am reminded of what a great life you can have if you live in a walkable town, have access to fresh produce, are surrounded by art and live in a culture with a strong sense of community.

In order to make art, you must first see great art! I was lucky to grow up near Venice where I could regularly see Titian’s paintings, but wherever you are, borrow art books from the library, study the drawings of the masters, sketch in museums. Keep getting drunk on beauty.

In more mundane news, today I completed a quest akin to Aeneas finding the golden bough: I finally, after much searching, found one nail artist in my area who does dip nails without using UV light (which I don’t want on my skin). I am very pleased with the result.

In order to write you must live! You must go out into the world and experience tragedies and triumphs, beauty and betrayals. Dante watched the woman he loved marry another man and die young, then he was exiled from Florence. That, I’m afraid, is how you write The Divine Comedy.

I am tired of all these tourists going down the same old tourist trail in Venice. I am soon taking my English husband to visit my parents near Venice where I grew up. When I do, I’m going to show you where I as an Italian go, what I eat, etc. I hope this will help someone!

“In order to write you need to read a lot.” Yes, but you need to read like a writer. You need to pay attention to how different authors build tension, describe characters, transition from scene to scene. This is the one, most crucial practice that will improve your writing.

If you want to write a book, your first goal is to create a writing habit. Write every day, even for just ten minutes. Do it even when your brain is tired and fuzzy and you think it’s pointless. Don’t wait for inspiration; make writing your everyday second nature.

Making art is always worth it. I am writing a children’s book. Even if kids don’t like it, doing the historical research for it, developing the discipline to write and reflecting on human nature in order to create characters has made me an infinitely better person.

The classics are worth reading even if you don’t fully understand them. Even if you don’t get every simile in The Iliad, reading such an honest description of the brutality of war and the horror of losing a loved one will shape you as a human being. That’s what matters.

Your time and energy are finite resources. You can spend your life fretting that you are not a good enough artist or writer, or you can practice as much as you can and do your very best to bring some more art into this world. Choose wisely.

A 30-year-old who refuses to learn a new skill because “it’s too late in life” is passing on the opportunity to become a 60-year-old with 30 years of experience.

Dr Knight, my wonderful husband, came home tonight with roses for me. There is no special occasion; he said he is just happy to see me. I am very lucky to have him.

Learning is not a chore; it should be a joy and an honour. It makes us better people. In the words of Renaissance humanist and bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci, “All evil comes from ignorance. Yet writers have illuminated the world, chasing away the darkness.”

Sir, that is my emotional support stationery I shall never use because it is too beautiful.

“The humanities are superfluous.” There would have been no Renaissance without the humanities. All those works of visual art were inspired by rediscovered classical Latin manuscripts. There can only be a bright future if we first learn about our past.

Young people should learn how to draw by studying the Renaissance and Baroque masters. They are yelling at each other online for “using references”, as though it was a sin, because they’ve never been taught that Titian and Caravaggio hired prostitutes to use them as art models.

Not finishing a book you are not enjoying is a sign of self-respect. It means you are aware that your time and attention are precious, finite resources, and that there are far too many great books in this world to waste yourself on the mediocre ones.

I love carrying a book with me wherever I go, even if I know I won’t have the time to read it. It’s comforting to know that at any time I could pull it out and dive into another world, another time, another life, and discover ideas I did not know about before.

One thing I like about Italian schools is the focus on the humanities. Latin was mandatory, and we studied so, so much history of art. It was, in fact, only when I moved to the UK that I found out the humanities are often considered “unimportant”.

We have so much knowledge at our fingertips! During the Renaissance, Poggio Bracciolini had to go scavenge in cold and decaying monasteries to retrieve classical Latin manuscripts. Now we can read Cicero’s works instantly from our sofa. Keep reading! Treasure all that we have.

Have any writers here managed to increase their writing stamina? As in, you could initially only write for three hours straight, and slowly you trained yourself and brought it up to five, etc.?

The healthiest thing a fiction writer can do is have a bit of a hate crush on all their villains (male and female alike). A story is only as great as its villain, and the most tedious plots are written by writers who are not fascinated enough by the villains who lead it.

Me, doing historical research for my fiction book: this is too much research, it can’t be done. My husband, an actual archeologist: lol of course it can be done! Here are ten thousand more research resources for you to read. 🤗

“The humanities are useless in the real world.” Renaissance humanists studied classical antiquity because they believed ancient wisdom made them better citizens of their time. The humanities will teach you how to navigate “the real world” wisely.

Do you feel discouraged because you failed? Leonardo Da Vinci failed to paint The Battle of Anghiari because he used an experimental technique and the paint did not stick to the wall. The best among us are not those who never failed, but rather those who failed and kept going.

Modern book-banners are nothing new. We have great Renaissance art depicting Roman gods thanks to the people who opposed the religious fanatics of the time who thought “pagan” art was idolatrous. This battle has been fought and won before. Keep defending art.

“Don’t buy books, just use the library.” I can’t underline library books. I can’t write notes on the margins. I can’t keep the book and revisit my notes two years later. Libraries and bookshops are friends, not rivals. There is a place for both.