How do we explain the things we make?

Some thoughts on creativity, publicity, and making weird art

How do we explain the things we make? In an 1983 interview, Alasdair Gray described his famous novel Lanark in a few short words:

Interviewer: ‘When somebody asks you to describe your book Lanark, what do you say to them?’

Alasdair Gray: ‘I say it is a Scottish petit bourgeois model of the universe.’

Interviewer: ‘Just like that?’

Alasdair Gray: ‘Yes, I’ve rehearsed it and honed it down to as few words as possible.’

(Watch the interview clip here at 10:30mins)

There is something slightly tongue-in-cheek about this answer. Lanark is a landmark novel which took 30 years to write, filled with complexity, for which journalists wanted a short, marketable line. Gray resists this by providing a line which isn’t very marketable at all.

As a writer and illustrator, I’m often filling out entry forms for craft markets, creative commissions, or funding applications, where I’m prompted to give descriptions of my work. It can be a tricky thing to encapsulate what you make in a few words or sentences.

When it came to my most recent book project, the Atlas of Scotland, I had a concept which was fairly easy to describe - a book of maps exploring aspects of Scotland. But once a large creative project is finished and released into the world, you find yourself embarking on a slightly odd journey of trying to re-frame it all again in hindsight.

There’s marketing, press, social media and book talks. Each magazine, newspaper, or online publication which takes an interest might want something unique for their readership. You can hone down an explanation in your head, but you may find yourself wondering ‘How many times can I describe this in a way which is different from the ways I’ve described it before?’

As creators in today’s crowded market, are we being encouraged to consider the selling-points before the work is made, rather than after? If funders, publishers and others are looking for a clear commercial hook, does that change the nature of what we make? Are we discounting ‘unsellable’ creative ideas too early? What if we want to make art we can’t explain in a five-second pitch? What if it’s complicated? What about Lanark?

Alasdair Gray’s answer, honing down his vast novel to ‘a Scottish petit bourgeois model of the universe’, feels refreshingly unlike modern publicity. There’s no marketplace category for that. He describes his artistic vision honestly and with humour without turning it into a sales pitch.

I’ve been thinking about what I want to make next, and wondering if my future projects might be less straight-forwardly marketable than the Atlas of Scotland, and what that will mean in terms of reach. But at this stage I don’t want those thoughts to get in the way of the one thing which matters most, which is to make the work.

The good news is that, whatever we decide to make, we have more channels than ever to reach people. All kinds of creative work can find its audiences, even if it’s niche. In fact, niche often thrives, while efforts at broad appeal sometimes don’t.

I want to have faith in making more unusual, less-marketable, but honest art. If you’re freelance and working independently, getting the word out effectively will always be an important part of the picture once the work is created. But letting the creation come first is what will give the work the space it needs to be original, meaningful and authentic.

Spring events

I’ll be trading at three events in Edinburgh this spring:

• Wednesday 2 April: Yes Marchmont & Morningside are hosting a public meeting where I’ll have a stand. The event, ‘Where next for Scotland?’ features the National columnists Assa Samaké-Roman and Tommy Sheppard. Open 7.30pm, Eric Liddell Centre, Holy Corner. No booking required.

• Saturday 10 May: I’ll have a stand at the Grange Fair, Newington Library.

• Sunday 11 May: I’ll be at the Portobello Town Hall Market, open 11am - 4pm.

If you’re interested in Scottish literature, you may also enjoy these upcoming events:

• Tuesday 3 April: a screening of a film about Hamish Henderson at the Scottish Poetry Library.

• Tuesday 10 April: a talk about James Macpherson’s Ossian at the National Library of Scotland.

• Thursday 24 April: a talk about Sorley Maclean at the National Library of Scotland.