Looking through the list of books available for review on Laura Hird’s website, I notice one called ‘52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity’. Sounds interesting and different, but is it the right kind of book for me? I normally stick to reviewing fiction, and have never really thought of myself as much of a creative person, so I’m wary… but then again, why not? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Laura duly sends me her review copy. The blurb reads: ‘Whether you write, paint, draw, sculpt, carve, dance, sing, play music, take photographs, cook (or even if you don’t know what your medium is) — use ‘52 Projects’ as a tool to discover the art of your life and inspire your next creative endeavor.’ I could be out of my depth here: the only one of these things I do is write, and even that is limited to reviews (I used to write fiction, but my well of ideas dried up for some reason). I have always wanted to be able to sing in tune, or draw a decent picture (and have the patience to do so!), or play an instrument, or something, but, despite my best intentions, wanting is as far as I’ve got. Perhaps Jeffrey Yamaguchi’s book will inspire me. Only one way to find out…

The 52 projects themselves don’t actually appear until some way into the book (though there are short project suggestions in the page margins, such as . Yamaguchi starts with a lengthy introductory section, in which he explains the background to ‘52 Projects’ (this is the book of the website, www.52projects.com), how to use the book, the value of making projects, and so on. I cannot help but be a little sceptical at this stage: are projects really ‘a major source of energy’, do they really ‘lead to self-discovery’ or ‘unleash your creativity’, as Yamaguchi suggests? Still, the only way to approach a book for review is with an open mind, so I begin reading the projects.

My doubts persist at first, as I come across several projects I just couldn’t imagine myself doing, such as Project 2: make a key lime pie, take photos of it being eaten and send them to a friend along with some limes and a copy of the recipe. Project 5 is to hang a piece of your own art in a public place – fair play to those who wish to try it, but I don’t think I’d be brave enough! Project 9 suggests that, next time you break a glass, keep the pieces and write down details of the occasion. This one intrigues me in a way the previous projects haven’t, and I start to think Yamaguchi may be on to something.

As I read through the other projects, several others jump out. Project 24: study an artist and his/her work and life. That could be interesting. Project 34: catalogue all your books and take photographs of them on the shelves. With all the books I own, that’s probably not practical! Project 36: stay up all night. I have no desire to do this again, inspiring though Yamaguchi’s writing is here; but it takes me back to the three previous occasions I stayed up all night (once to write an essay at university, and two all-night charity games marathons at college). Project 49: take before-and-after pictures of yourself getting soaked in the rain. No thanks! It’s raining heavily even as I type these words, but no!

Seriously, though, after reading through all the projects, I start to see how they could be inspiring, and there are some I’d like to try. Time to go from reading to doing…

I start with Project 14: write out the lyrics to your favourite songs. I like too many songs to narrow them down to a few absolute favourites; so I just pick out four that I think will be interesting, grab the CDs and sit down with pen and paper. The rules: I will listen to each song once, I can pause but not rewind, and no looking at lyric sheets or websites! These rules don’t last long, as I find some words unintelligible on the first listen (and some on more than just the first listen!). I’m struck by just how long it takes, how many words can be packed into a few minutes. It’s good to have worked out some lyrics I was never sure of; now I can sing along properly! Do they read as (in Yamaguchi’s words) ‘beautiful, layered, masterful poetry…or…the poetry of a ninth grader’?I really don’t know: I can’t read them without hearing the music. It would be interesting to give them to someone who didn’t know these songs and ask for their reaction. It would be interesting, next time I buy a CD, to read the lyric sheet first and write down my reactions, then revisit them after listening to the music. Hmm, perhaps some latent creativity is being stirred in me after all…

Now for one of the variants of Project 33: to revisit (and rewrite) the first story I ever wrote. That should be fun… My first story is not a manuscript locked away in a drawer, but a short story based on a fantasy book series that was published in a fan club newsletter. I think back to when I wrote it. The first newsletter I received after joining the club invited people to send in short stories of 350-500 words. I was inspired: I don’t know where the idea for the story came from but, as far as I remember, I wrote it all out (by hand) pretty much in one go. Oh, to have that level of inspiration again! Perhaps I was at an age when ideas come more easily because you don’t know other people have had them; perhaps I still have the capacity for such inspiration but I’ve forgotten how to tap into it.

Anyway, I haven’t read the story in years, but now is the time to do so… and the good news is I haven’t embarrassed myself. It reads like the work of an enthusiastic, well-meaning amateur who hasn’t read widely enough (which, of course, it is). There are bits I wish I hadn’t written (how does a character from thousands of miles away manage to attend an event with less than a day’s notice? I know he’s a wizard, but there are rules!), but it’s okay rather than dreadful. I can see what direction I might take when trying to rewrite it, but I find that I don’t want to do so. Flaws and all, it represents the very beginning of my writing, and I want to keep it that way.

Project 45 is the ‘one-minute autobiography’; write for one minute about whatever memory pops into your head, then read it over and repeat for as long as you like. My first reaction is that a minute goes by quicker than I expected; my second is that it’s surprising how many memories are dredged up once you start thinking this way. I like the idea of telling stories in haphazard chunks of three or four sentences; perhaps I’ll try that out some time.

And after all that… I think some spark of creativity might just have been (re)ignited in me. It’s too early to tell right now, but I think I’ll be trying out some more projects and looking up some of the suggestions for further inspiration that Yamaguchi ends the book with. Perhaps it’s time I bought a digital camera or practised drawing or… or I could just open ‘52 Projects’ at random and see where it takes me. Now, where can I find a recipe for key lime pie ..?

David Hebblethwaite lives out in the wilds of Yorkshire, where he attempts to make a dent in his collection of unread books. You can read more of David's reviews at his review blog.

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