In Creative Conversations with Allee Richards
We return with our Creative Conversation Series.
We are back with edition three of our Creative Conversation series, a space to learn more about our community, dive into the rituals, creative lives and bathing habits of artists, writers and creatives we admire. This time, we sat down with Allee Richards, author, theatre producer and avid swimmer. Allee shares the places she swims to stay both active and reflective.
Allee Richards is a fiction writer and lighting technician from Melbourne. Her short stories have been published in Australian literary journals including Overland, Kill Your Darlings and Australian Book Review. She is the author of two novels, Small Joys of Real Life and A Light in the Dark.
SOS: First of all, let’s talk about bathing - are you a regular visitor to a bathhouse, pool, beach? What does bathing mean to you?
I regularly visit all of the above. Being in water is when I’m most relaxed and joyful. In the ocean I become almost manic with joy, especially at a surf beach. I will often be laughing out loud as I emerge from being dumped.
When I get in a bath my first thought is usually, gosh this is boring, I’ll just do it for five minutes. Next thing, an hour has passed.
SOS: We’d love to hear about your creative work - how does your writing practice look on a daily or weekly basis?
Like most writers I balance my creative work with more secure income, which for me is in theatre production. I get most of my writing done once a show is up and running and I only need to be at work in the evening.
I write first thing in the morning. I try to avoid looking at the news or instagram before I start and I keep the internet disconnected until I’m done for the day. I write frequently, but in short-bursts. Two-to-four hours is me done for the day. In the afternoon I will swim laps at my local pool followed by a long sit in the spa. Then it’s off to earn money.
SOS: Whether it’s creatively or just life in general, how do you break out of a funk?
Cutting out booze is key. I am partial to a vino with dinner and I love the sesh, but the easiest and most efficient way to feel great is not to drink for a couple of weeks.
Exercise, which for me is swimming laps and tennis, and reading a good book. The difference between my mental health being okay or good is mostly contingent on how much I’m enjoying the book I’m currently reading. These three things work in harmony well as, if I’m not hungover, I’m more likely to read and exercise and, if I’m enjoying my book and feeling energetic, I’m less likely to drink.
SOS: Writing as a practice is generally quite still and sedentary, whereas swimming is so dynamic and active. Do you find there is a relationship between the two, does one help the other? And connected to this, what are some ways that you find balance between work, writing, and time for the mind/body to relax and move?
After sitting in a chair and staring at a computer I definitely feel the benefits of getting my body moving, but the way I swim – 24 laps of freestyle at a moderate pace – is very repetitive, so my mind is free to wander. Both activities are long blocks of simply thinking about things.
When I’m in the water I’m never thinking about my characters, but my own life.
I think this is a good thing after having spent hours inside the head of made up people and their made up problems, to return to reality. Finding balance is like walking a tightrope, but I have learnt to read my own signals over the years. What it boils down to – if I start feeling flat and uninspired, forget writing and do whatever is going to make me feel better. If I’m on a deadline it can appear counterintuitive to take a day off to go for a swim or to the movies, but ultimately, returning to work refreshed will be more efficient than any sort of “pushing through” which only leads to misery.
SOS: Dream pool or bathing location?
I was in Chile in 2018 with my family and I spent a day at the Geometric Hot Springs in Villarrica National Park in the Andes. It was like Sense of Self in a forest and I would go back in a heartbeat.
Past Conversations
In Creative Conversation with Maria Angelico
In Creative Conversation with Katherine Brabon