I’ve discovered that publishing a book does not finish with writing the darn thing. For a writer that’s the fun part. Now the ‘real’ work begins. So, while that process is slowly underway, with the help of a Very Clever friend, I thought to take a moment to reflect on my writing journey.
They say – whoever ‘they’ are – that readers make good writers. If this is so, then I have been developing my craft since I was four. That’s rather a lot of years – those in the know can work it out. There isn’t much point putting a number here, as obviously it changes every day that I am still on the planet.
By the time I had been at school six months I was helping other children stammer their way through Janet and John. I recall that quite clearly, and also my calm acquiescence at the teacher’s request that I do this. My handwriting required more work and still does, though I’m sure it is better than this example. But I will never have a beautiful hand like my mother and grandmother (also writers). Looking through my early schoolbooks I see an early desire to create stories. Hopefully, they have improved somewhat since then!
As a teenager I fancied myself a writer and filled notebooks with drivel and nonsense – mostly about the unfairness of life. It’s just as well that those scribblings were long ago consigned to the rubbish-bin – I believe my dad threw some away in disgust. With my own children and working in the early childhood sector I wrote – and illustrated not very well – little stories, often based on the children’s exploits.
During my thirties I began writing poetry and short stories, and eventually joined a Writer’s Guild. Being part of that group helped me to improve and push myself to explore a range of genres. The regular magazine they published was the first time I saw my work in print and made me hunger for more.
Embarking on further study I learned to write tight essays – from Educational Psychology to the deeper meanings found within Shakespearean sonnets. Working in the Education sector also gave me opportunity to write – often these were articles and letters published in the local newspaper. Then I wrote academic articles for scholarly magazines related to my work, and presentations for educational conferences – culminating in a huge thesis based on research that I had carried out. These all strengthened my knowledge of writing conventions but did not satisfy my desire to write creatively.
I entered writing competitions as a form of release from academia and was delighted if I won a place. Those moments encouraged me even more than A’s and B’s on an essay.
For ten years I produced our local community newsletter with between six and eight editions each year. This was another task that served to hone my skills. The germ of an idea – ideas – for several longer stories began to coalesce over this time, and I mentally teased and probed them – making notes – beginning chapters – wondering which I should tackle first. Each story was different, quite disparate. Until, waking in the early hours one morning, I realised they were all part of the same story; and so, the concept of The Thousandth Way Chronicles was born.
Now, many years later and books one and two are complete, along with an accompanying unexpected novella. Book three is in its first draft, book four is still ideas on paper and rattling around in my head. There could be a book five – if I live long enough! There is also currently being created, a book that is concurrent with book three – different characters with some overlap.
I expect that’s enough to go on with for the moment – other than those books about…oh, well, another time!
Writing never ends.
First published 12 Nov 2023 on Nana’s Blogs from the Beach – adapted
