Being a Writer
I am a writer.
There, I’ve said it and it was a bit scary, but yes, I am a
writer.
Therefore, what makes me a writer?
I am 57 years old; I have been writing for probably for 55
of those years. In my later years at school, I was fortunate, and it is with grateful
thanks to my mother and two school teachers, who were also unsung World War Two
heroes and published authors, that I managed to leave school with GCE ‘O‘ Levels in English language and
literature.
To be honest 2019 hasn’t been the best and I’m on my third
job of the year (don’t ask); my wife’s father passed away after a brief illness
and to top it all she has been made redundant as well. However, five months ago I embarked on a
comprehensive creative writing course. A long-held dream is starting to come to
fruition.
I have been published several times over the years; letters
in national daily papers, cricket reports in local papers and articles for
in-house journals. Earlier this year The Rugby Paper published one of my
letters and I had very pleasing personal triumph when Writing Magazine, this
country’s biggest selling monthly writing publication, published a letter from
one of my assignments.
The Comprehensive Creative Writing Course which I have
embarked on covers all aspects of writing. It has been divided into Fiction and
Non-Fiction. I have chosen to start with Non-Fiction. As recommended by the
bureau and also because my interest is in writing articles for magazines. The
early modules are aimed at getting into that market. Writing letters is the
first and possibly the easiest way to see yourself in print, with the added
bonus that there are lots of publications which offer prizes to the star
letter. Getting into the habit of writing a letter to a publication 3 or 4
times a week can prove quite profitable. Filler articles are another way to get
into print and they are exactly what they sound like. They are small pieces
that an editor uses to fill any gaps they may have after the articles and
advertisements are added to the page. Identifying those opportunities is an
important first lesson to be learnt and as the modules continue, this early
lesson is further evolved into a detailed analysis of magazines. I now have a
spreadsheet with which I can input information gleaned from magazines to
compare it with others, easily identifying freelance opportunities, size and
types of articles, apparent readership and more importantly the correct editor
to send the pitch to. On another, I have set up a formula to calculate word
counts of articles without having to laboriously count each word. Alongside
this is my submissions and financial workbook where I track my submissions by
date sent, to which editor and whether I have had an answer back or not.
My smartphone has proved a useful tool for me as a writer as
well. I have a very useful app from which I can view and research magazines
from markets all across the globe and I can access the writing folder on my
laptop through cloud services. I have a couple of apps where I can collate
notes, another where I can ‘mind map’ any ideas and one that will capture any
clip from any websites I visit. There are not many articles that don’t contain
photographs and with nearly every phone having a powerful camera fitted, high-resolution
photographs can be easily edited and uploaded to cloud services for use later. Cloud services are essential for any writer. Who
knows when you may drop your cup of tea or pot noodle all over your laptop and
it breathes its last. Using the cloud you can log on from anywhere and from any
computer and then be able to see all your files to work on.
My latest piece of work is an article entitled ‘Dog Toys and
Why They Play’ aimed at the leading dog magazine in this country. After consideration
by my tutor and on her recommendation, I have sent this off to the contributing
editor. Time will tell if the Editor will use my work.
It cannot be stressed enough that all writers will receive rejections
throughout their writing careers. A
rejection doesn’t always mean that your work is not good enough; it may be that
your work just doesn’t fit the editors’ requirements at that time. If an editor
has any suggestions to improve your work they may well give you those in the
rejection letter and this can be a piece of valuable advice for future articles
or pitches.
My next assignment is to write two pitches and articles for two different publications. Realistically with lead times etc., I am now
looking at articles that will be published in the New Year, the research goes
on.
In and around this course work I have also found time to
write short stories, one of which I even entered into a competition in The
Writers Forum magazine. This was the first time I had written a story since my
school exams in 1978!
Being a writer has really energised me as a person and
joining Ottery Writers has given me so much inspiration. Never in a million
years did I think that I would be reading out my writings to a group. This inspiration had led me to write more
short stories; I have ideas for a couple of books in my notes now and even an
idea for a possible comedy play.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading a bit about my life as
a writer. Living in East Devon and Hardy’s Wessex, you cannot help but be
inspired by the works of Thomas Hardy and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Indeed
Coleridge’s famous poem Kubla Khan is
carved into the entrance of the park in Ottery St Mary, his birthplace. At
Ottery Writers we have members with varying interests in the writing world; poets,
novelists, fantasy writings and children’s stories are just a few. The field of
opportunities for writers is vast. These talented people continue to inspire me
every week to challenge myself further.
I do have several ideas for stories and who knows one day and hopefully
not too far in the future, I too can proudly present my newly published novel.
Referring back to the beginning; yes I am a writer. I
wouldn’t call myself a professional just yet but that is certainly going to
change soon.
I’m on a wonderful journey and loving every minute of it! I
hope you can join me for the ride.
