What's it like Marrying a Creative?

​Intense, my husband gazed into my eyes, and told me with sincerity. “Thank you. For everything.”
 
Flapping, I ruined the moment by twittering defensively “Thank you? Why?! For what? What have I done?!”
 
Mat is a writer, and I'd just ruined his acknowledgement of everything I'd done to support him since he ventured out freelance as The Tower of Stars. Whoops!  

Makers Gonna Make

​There is a joke that behind every great man is a great/patient/nagging woman, but being creative myself, I've always understood what drives Mat – it boils down to the phrase "makers gonna make". I'd never expected him to thank me so sincerely, because I’ve never seen the creative drive as unusual, or as something to suppress.
 
When you spend your time on creative things, you're more open-minded to other people doing the same. You help when creative mates need a hand to put up an art exhibition, or promote an event. Living with a creative is another story though, as rather than the occasional hand, it becomes a constant ebb and flow.

Creativity is 24/7

​Mat and I chat about story arcs while doing the weekly shop. He meets me at midnight when I've taken my jewellery to bellydance events. I proof read his work on the bus. He drops me off at the local craft fair. I draw character concepts for his boardgame. He asks me questions about my retail outlet choices. When not writing, or making jewellery, we’re often doing something for each other. Yup, I probably spend more time helping him out, but reading a novel takes longer than looking at a bead and suggesting “would a solid colour be better?”
 
As you may have noticed, these things don't fit in a 9-5 role. Mat wants to talk about novels when driving long distances because somehow that's when his brain is good for it. I may get up at 7.30am on a Saturday and make jewellery because I've had an idea and want to nail it before breakfast. If it's your hobby or your business, creativity wants to do what it does on its own terms. Good thing we both know that.

1st Investigation of the game, and @Perf_Jewellery got poor Seren Cynwrig killed. By a bundle of sentient twigs. pic.twitter.com/vrEkBIrURU

— Matthew Ward (@thetowerofstars) May 2, 2016

Playtesting often includes public mockery on social media...

Lots of Buses at Once

​The thank you tied into a few things coming along at once. The Tower of Stars is Mat’s full time creative business, and that means time, money, heart, soul. So when Mat landed himself a contract to write a novel for a games company, a place on a miniatures game project, further computer game work, and (excitingly) a literary agent – all at pretty much the same time – it felt as though a lot of hard work was starting to pay off.
 
We've talked about what all this work means coming at once; long hours, odd hours, but ultimately, Mat is being offered challenges, opportunities and the income to do more of what he is good at. I'm still behind him, and I'm still not expecting thanks from the man I married, because makers gonna make. 

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​Alongside his freelance work, Mat explores his own worlds in his own novels and short stories. So of course, I'm going to plug his upcoming publication ;)

The definitive edition of Shadow of the Raven lands on the 1st August, in Kindle and paperback forms.

​If you want some horror, and a bit of fun, on your Twitter feed, follow the only secret paranormal government investigation organisation with a Twitter account, at @Coldharbourfeed.

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