Hello Writers and Readers!

Join me on the creative journey...

I’m so glad you found me! Maybe you are a writer, a reader, an artist, a secret scribbler, a silent sketcher, a daring doodler or none of the above. If you are just curious, that’s even better, because curiosity is the first C in Creative. Whichever modality you currently practice or aspire to, I invite you to join me on the creative journey as I share inspiration, tips, tricks, motivational articles and my own creative offerings. I’ve been making creative works for 40+ years and all the experience, knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained has finally landed here on Substack!

My way into creativity has always been through writing and performance but I am equally at home messing around with scrapbooking, zine making, sketching, comic strips and all the paper arts. I’ve been an actor in underground theatre, a singer/songwriter, a percussionist in an all girl latin jazz band, a playwright, screenwriter, performance artist, a university tutor, teacher/ mentor and for the last two decades I’ve been taking groups travelling and writing to extraordinary international locations including Bali, Fiji, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Japan, Morocco, Paris and Italy. I have been a regular participant at literary festivals in the Asia Pacific region, collaborating with poets, artists and musicians, plus I’ve had writer’s residencies in Istanbul, Indonesia, Morocco, Iran and Australia.

A good number of writers I have worked with have gone on to publish with major publishing houses. Here is what some of them have to say.

I have worked with Jan Cornall for over a decade. She met me as an inexperienced and nervous writer and helped me find my voice and style. Jan supported me through false starts, rewrites, yet more rewrites and even more rewrites, until my first novel, The Wardrobe Girl, was published by Random House.  Jan's approach is encouraging, warm and constructive and her use of guided meditation as a way into writing is brilliant. I am now embarking on a second novel and couldn't hope for a better guide. Jennifer Smart, novelist.

Jan has such a natural flair for being an intuitive and motivating guide in the writing and creative process.  Her ‘live’ guided meditations are gateways to tap into one’s stream of consciousness and it becomes a literary adventure as she helps you surface innermost thoughts and memories that launch fresh paths in your writing.  Through her writer’s retreats, she brings together an array of writers of all levels where she inspires and leads like a maestro, orchestrating inspiring sessions of deep sharing and learning.  Sabrina Chong, memoir writer.

Jan’s workshops have been instrumental in giving me the confidence to start a new novel. I needed to research various aspects of it but didn’t want that to stifle the development of character. Jan’s guidance in the craft of writing combined with meditations that help the writing flow, have prompted a regular word count each week which is encouraging. The writers in the group are not only talented but generous with their ideas and support, and provide a nurturing environment in which to read those first tentative drafts. Jennifer Moore, novelist.

I simply would not have kept going with my manuscript and discovered what I needed to do to finish it and submit it for publication without Jan Cornall’s perceptive advice and support.  I also would not have had the courage to start living the life of a writer and take all the ups and downs in my stride.  Be in no doubt – Jan Cornall is a master guide! ‘ Andra Putnis, memoir writer.

‘Jan’s writing workshops are always inspiring and revealing. I love the meditations and find them so useful in taking me into the fiction world I am creating. Jan is so engaging and encouraging she brings out the best of all of us. Tiffany Plummer, novelist.

MEDITATIVE WRITING TECHNIQUE

The most unique thing about my workshops is the meditative writing technique I have developed due to my practice as a student of Tibetan Buddhism. The visualisation method I use allows writers to access their deep creative source and produce their most powerful writing.

If you want to experience it first hand you can join my Draft Busters Online course that offers weekly workshops in monthly modules. Mondays mornings and Friday afternoons AEST. Find out more here.

Coming in mid 2024 I’ll be posting some articles with audio that you can try out for yourself. Meanwhile you can purchase some meditations here.

MOTIVATION FOR YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY

It’s not always easy to stay on track in your writing or creative process. The articles I post on this topic in the Tips section come straight from the challenges and experiences I face on the creative path.

Want help with procrastination? Read my article, Are You a PRO at PROcrastination? here.

Do you think no-one is interested in in what you have to say so you may as well give up now? Read my 25 Reasons NOT to be a Writer here.

Do you always fail at New Years Resolutions and then give up for the entire year? Read Intentions not Resolutions this New Year here. You can apply these principles any time of year.

Are the Negative Critic, the Sneaky Sabateur, the Ribald Resister, the Nagging Nanny and all the others who regularly turn up to torment us getting the better of you? Get 5 tips to trick yourself back into effortless writing here.

I’m posting articles like these at least once a month. If you have any topics you would like me to cover please let me know!

JAN’S CURRENT WRITING

In December 2023 I completed the serialisation of my travel memoir set in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Looking for Duras weaves three strands of memoir into one: my lifelong infatuation with the French writer Marguerite Duras, a journey through Vietnam and Cambodia tracing her footsteps, and a meditation on mothers and melancholy.

Start reading Ep 1 here.

You can also dip into The Everyday Musings of Louisa Greene.

In this gently satirical flash fiction novella, retired librarian Louisa Greene, a single childless woman of a certain age, finds the courage to share all the things she thought, but never dared say. She hopes it might encourage you to do the same.

And Letters to Leftie Bestie, a humourous cancer journal.

LB is the breast I lost in my unilateral mastectomy on March 6. 2024. Rightie Tightie (RT) is the remaining (smaller) breast. Since the day before surgery I have been writing letters/odes to Leftie Bestie on FaceBook and transferring here to Substack. Sometime down the track I’m thinking to collect them in a memoirella called My Left Breast.

I’d love to know what you are working on. Please tell us about it in the comments.

Meanwhile come on in, have a look around and join the journey with us!