I'm Charlotte Bell, an author from Ōtautahi. I started out in the sciences, with a degree in environmental and biological sciences, before I realised it was communication I really loved. In my writing I try to take complex, misunderstood subjects and communicate them in a way that everyone can understand. My first book, One Year Out, is a collection of essays about one terrible, beautiful year getting through addiction, public rehab, then an unexpected move to Bali. I write about institutions, mental illness, addiction, friendship and the wellness industry.
During the week I work in fashion writing and content in Ōtautahi. I also run a Substack called Trainwrecks, and I'm working on a novel set across three eras inside a former psychopaedic institution that's now a rehab.
Here's my Shameless Plug:
My guilty pleasure is staying in bed all day watching documentaries about multi-level marketing schemes. I don’t feel that guilty about it tbh. But I have rewatched Lula Rich like seven times. It lulls me into a very relaxed state when I am stressed.
The most fun I’ve ever had on a project was when I was a travel writer in Indonesia and got sent to Flores Island to visit Komodo. We stayed in a resort that was so outrageously bougie we sort of lost our minds, like we had a butler. It was a window into how the one percent live. I'd brought my friend Roxanne, who's from Paris, and I took on the Parisian attitude, like method acting as an influencer, posing on the wharf at sunrise and capturing content for the magazine. Then Roxanne and I would go back to the villa and laugh at how weird all of it was.
The moment I knew I wanted to be an artist wasn’t until my early twenties. I grew up in spaces where creativity wasn't celebrated or encouraged. I don't think I understood who I was, or the kind of life I wanted, until my early twenties. I started a catering business and was cooking and writing recipes every day. That's when people began commenting on my creativity, and I started to see it in myself. I began writing properly around then, as a way of making sense of some mental health diagnoses I was working through.
The place I feel most creative is Indonesia. There’s something about the light and warmth it gives me this crazy amount of energy to create. I wrote One Year Out from cafes, on the beach and in my bed in Bali. I loved the Balinese attitude to life. It made me feel so free. I crave it.
But in everyday life, I feel most creative early in the morning in my bed with coffee.
My biggest inspiration is people. How people get through difficult, heartbreaking things and still come out the other side with their humour and empathy, and still be able to love. I love how strange people are, I love witnessing all of the weird things people do. But also water, ever since I was little I’ve felt at home in the water. I think stepping into a river and putting my head under is the most spiritual I ever feel. It’s like all of the shit that stops me from being creative gets cleared away.
I keep myself accountable by remembering that I want to be a full time author. I’ve set pretty big outrageous goals for myself and I know I’m playing the long game. When I'm feeling over it or disheartened I think about what could be possible if I keep going. I have this tattoo that says ‘I can’t go on, I will go on’ from the Samuel Becket book. I got it when I was in this horrible place in my addiction. I was so tired and didn’t know how to get out of the situation I was in. I read that quote and just kept trying. It still took a few more years to get into recovery but that attitude definitely helped me survive.
My favourite arts space is Common Ground poetry nights and The Late Night Poetry Hour in Ōtautahi. I was so shy going into these spaces at first. I really felt like I didn’t fit in but after like four years I’m feeling braver and I read my poems sometimes and have made beautiful friends. I always leave feeling so inspired and like the creative part of my brain has been activated.
My all time favourite album has consistently moved me since I first heard it, Kevin Morby’s album Oh My God. I listened to Homebrew’s album Run It Back on repeat when I lived in Indonesia. I think my favourite high school albums that bring soo much nostalgia would have to be The National High Violet and Modest Mouse Good News For People Who Love Bad News. Honourable mentions are Van Morrison Moondance, Dave The Boy Who Played the Harp and DRAMA Dance Without Me
My favorite podcast is Rats in the Gutter by Johanna Cosgrove and Sam Te Kani. I also love The Male Gayz Podcast with Eli Mathewson and Chris Parker, Straight Diva by Su, I Think! and Louis Blooey, and the Mai Morning crew, even though that’s not a podcast. I love listening to other people laugh and it's a really nice way to hear about new music or shows or just get an honest opinion.
My hot take on writing is to live your life, do as many things as possible, be around all sorts of people who are different from you. Different ages, from different places, with different upbringings. Listen to everyone, even when you don't agree with them. And take feedback! I was defensive when my work was first critiqued at uni, but it’s helped me understand how to reach different people. It’s also helped me in my relationships and at work
My shameless plug is that I wrote a book! It’s called One Year Out and it's a collection of essays that I wrote after I’d come out of this really horrendous year when my addiction to drugs and alcohol spiraled so far out of control that I needed to give up everything and take some time out of the world. I talk about institutions, mental illness, rehab, friendship and living in Bali in recovery and what it was like being surrounded by the wellness scene over there. I as honestly as I could to give some insight into addiction and mental illness. I'm surprised by how funny people find it.
Folly brought the book to life with me and they have been so cool to work with. I’ve felt so supported and celebrated.
