I’ve been writing for a year now. I’ve read books, blogs and websites. I’ve done online courses, workshops and undergraduate courses. I’ve listened to podcasts, attended meetings and generally immersed myself in writing. Looking back over all the pieces of advice, all the lessons learned in that year, I think the one that has most changed the way I write is a realisation that I came to somewhere along the way.

It’s not enough to just write a description of the story as it plays out in my head. My job as a writer is to get the reader as involved in that moment as I am.

And that’s tricky, because the things that play out in my imagination are full of sound, scent and action. My imagination is vivid and I just know things about the characters; who is lying, who is scared. It’s easy to forget that the person who is reading this doesn’t have those experiences unless I find the perfect combination of words to trigger them.

It means when I write a description, I have to remember that people experience things differently. Some people are visual, some experiential. Different senses dominate, scent, sound, touch, taste all need to be remembered alongside the appearance of a thing.

The words that I choose, their length, the rhythm of sentences, all of these can create a sense of time and place. They can pull the reader along at a frantic pace, or force them to slow down and immerse themselves in the moment. They can make people cry, or smile, or feel that creeping sense between the shoulder blades that something isn’t as it should be.

One other thing I’ve learned? I love writing. In the last year it has become as natural to me as breathing, eating and sleeping. I don’t know how I got to 44 without realising this was a fundamental need of mine.

In the last year I have conjured up more than 50,000 words of fiction, between Alfie Slider and a plethora of short stories. It’s so freeing to be allowed to daydream, to be able to call that ‘plotting’ and not think of it as a waste of time. I’m more myself now than I have ever been, and I count my blessings that I am able to do what I love, right here, right now.

For my next trick…I’m going to try and earn a living from it 😉

So, people are actually reading the things that I write. That’s a weird feeling in and of itself. Then there is the fact that people are having emotional responses to things that I’ve written, and that’s humbling and flattering and occasionally scary.

Earlier this year, I wrote a short story for kids called ‘The Museum Bell’ and offered it as a thank you for donations to Doctors of the World UK. The story is set on the front steps of the Yorkshire Museum, and a number of people who had read it told me that it had inspired them to visit and see the places and objects mentioned in the story.  Here’s a photo of Lochy on the Museum steps, sent to me by his Mum,  the talented Amy-Jane Beer.

Lochy ringing ‘The Museum Bell’

The idea that people might have their enjoyment of a place enhanced because of stories stuck with me, and forms the basis of a new writing venture that I hope to tell you more about very soon.

Then there is Joseph, one of my ‘beta readers’ for Alfie Slider. When his Mum asked if the story was too frightening, he had named only one scene as problematical. Why? It reminded him of an accident he’d had himself.

During my Christmas visiting, I met a family member who is very supportive of my writing. She told me how moved she’d been by my recent winning entry for Hour of Writes, After the Flood. I can’t count the number of times a book or story has moved me, stayed with me after I’ve finished reading it, and it’s amazing to know that I have the ability to do that too! Just with the power of words!

I haven’t, yet, set out to write a deliberately provocative piece but sometimes my personal thoughts and feelings sneak out from my characters mouths and my fears form the basis for bad guys or bad situations.

You might remember a while back I got some negative feedback from an entry to Hour of Writes, Climate of Change. Well, I’ve seen the comments of the person who marked that piece now; they say that reading it made them lose their temper, and that they had to take a few hours to cool off. I’m stunned that my words can have such an affect on someone, all the more so because as I said: I haven’t, yet, set out to write a deliberately provocative piece; apparently I wrote one accidentally, though.

I have some discomfort with this aspect of writing. I dislike manipulation on a deeply fundamental level, and yet that is exactly what I’m doing when I write a story. I want the reader to invest in the characters, to love or loathe them. I want them to feel happy, scared, sad or uplifted as appropriate. Writing is manipulation, and I choose my words to give the story maximum effect.

There’s also the element of how much people infer about you, the author, because of the things your characters say and do. I’ve already had to reassure friends and family members that I’m not terrified of abduction or having suicidal thoughts because they’ve read stories or poems and assumed that I was. The marker who got so upset thought that the point-of-view character’s thoughts and feelings were my own, that I was using her to argue my own agenda. I wonder if crime writers get any social invitations, or if hosts just hide all the sharp objects before they arrive?

Ultimately this is something that I need to develop more of a tolerance for, I suppose. People are going to have unexpected reactions to my stories, and as more and more people read my work so I’ll have to find a way to deal with that. Looking to the future and publication, there is the spectre of online reviews looming large, with all their scorn and vitriol.

What have I got myself into?

My primary goal when I write, is to get the stories out of my head and into a more reliable storage device. I’m still at an early enough stage in my writing career that people actually reading what I wrote makes me uncomfortable, but it’s a good kind of uncomfortable. At the end of the day, what is the point of writing unless someone reads it?

Somehow having people read blog posts, or online entries, isn’t the same as being part of an actual, physical book; there’s a real sense of permanence with ink and paper. I look forward to the day when my name is on the cover of a novel I’ve written and I can call myself an author without hesitation.

In the meantime, this is a very nice step along the way: my winning entry to Hour of Writes ‘The College Bar’ appears in their 2015 Winners Annual. My copy arrived yesterday, and it’s a wonderful book. Beautifully designed and bound, great quality, and some fantastic writing enclosed within. I’m very proud to be entry #41 in such a great volume, my first publication as an adult writer.

You can buy the annual, and other books from Hour of Writes here.

I discovered last night that I had been picked as the winning entry for Hour of Writes last week, with After the Flood.

Read my entry here (the one by Sirona)

This is my second win over at Hour of Writes, and in addition to being grateful for the prize money, it’s good to have another achievement to add to my writer’s CV. For a first time author trying to get seen in a sea of people in the same position, anything that can give you a bit of an edge is valuable.

Hour of Writes is, currently, a fairly small competition. There are usually around 25 entries a week, but they are of a fantastic standard. I don’t think I’ve read an entry yet that wasn’t worthy of being published, and the poetry blows me away. To write a polished piece of literature in an hour is an accomplishment, but to get the layers of meaning and sheer artistry of poetry done in an hour is amazing.

I also heard back from them about the inappropriate marking, which has been dealt with, and more excitingly – the 2015 winners Annual is ready! It’s being posted today and should be with me by Christmas.

Buy your copy here.

No, this isn’t the latest episode in the Alfie Slider series; it’s just my way of telling you all that I’ve submitted the latest draft of the manuscript to the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition.

I received my in-depth consultancy report from Cornerstones Literary Agency in October, which I’ll blog about in more depth at some point, but was very encouraged. There were some changes needed, so I did those and then read through the revised story to see how I liked it. I love it! It has all the charm of the original, but with more depth and shine.

Getting a novel redrafted and line edited to the best of my ability in about a month has been hard work, the last few days I’ve spent so much time in Alfie’s world that I wasn’t quite sure what was real at times! Last night I went to the post office and sent the manuscript on its way, infused with good wishes from friends.

Competitions are always a long shot, especially big and well known ones like the Times/Chicken House but if you don’t enter? You stand no chance. I know there is a tremendous amount of writing talent out there, striving to get published and whilst I may have moments of doubt about myself I never stop believing in Alfie. Everyone who has read the story so far has been so enthusiastic, it’s like magic. Maybe someone at Chicken House will fall under the spell?

In any event, Alfie Slider vs the Shape Shifter is going on the back burner for a few weeks. I’ll work on Alfie 2, or maybe an adult novella until January when I’m going to be seeking representation.

Look out 2016, Alfie Slider is coming to get you 🙂

Happy News! I’ve just found out that my flash fiction story, In Memoriam, was shortlisted for the InkTears Flash Fiction competition earlier this month. The list was announced on the 3rd of November but I think I must have missed the email, but I’m glad I did as I needed that little bit of a boost this morning to encourage me on.

In Memoriam is not a typical piece of work for me, it explores the subject of losing someone very close and how we go on to become living memorials to them. I wasn’t even sure if it counted as flash fiction as there was no real story arc or character development but it looks like I have that question answered. There were almost a thousand entries, and mine was one of the 40 the judges liked most: That’s quite something.

Catching your breath, you turn and whisper ‘I love you’; the certainty of it remains with me even now. You did. We did. I have never seen a sight more beautiful than your face, haloed in golden light, hovering above me. (In Memoriam, Sarah Dixon)

In January of this year, with my youngest settled at preschool, I finally had some time to do something for myself. Three mornings and one afternoon a week, I decided to sit down and try to write a book. It was a test; would I write? Could I write? Would I be any good?

By May I had a first draft of my first children’s novel: Alfie Slider vs the Shape Shifter. It’s been read by a few adults who have used words like ‘gripping’ and ‘page turner’, more than one has read it in one sitting. It’s also been read by some children, my target market, and they loved it too! The York Writers novelist support group have been really encouraging and supportive, and when I started sending the manuscript out in September I did it with high hopes.

Those hopes soon turned into misgivings as I got standard responses of ‘thanks for sending, we have to be very selective, your work isn’t quite what we’re looking for.’ I realised that something must be missing from the manuscript and hired Cornerstones Literary Consultancy to review the story for me.

Their response arrived in October; and it was basically positive. Yes, there were a few grammatical issues and bad habits that needed to be polished out but the basics of the story were there. Plot, pacing, characters – all great. So why wasn’t I ticking the boxes for the Agents?

Well, it turns out that in this financial climate, everyone is looking to minimise work and maximise profit. That means unless your work is perfect, and fits neatly into a marketing pigeon hole, it’s going to be a tough sell. Hard news to hear, but valuable to know.

I’m currently reworking the novel to tick a few more boxes, and am hoping to send it out again in the New Year. I believe in Alfie, and I’m sure the perfect Agent and Publisher are out there and that I will find them.

What I have come to realise though is that even if Alfie does get published, the chances of it making any kind of real money are slim. Even published authors are diversifying, either with school visits and workshops or offering their professional services via Literary Consultants. So, if I want to live the dream and earn a living from writing, I need to think with a business head on.

This week as I was talking this over with a friend, she turned my meanderings into a solid business idea. An exciting business idea. One that brings together my skills not just as a writer, but from previous experience. An idea that sits well with my ethics and principles. More than that, I can’t say at the moment but watch this space.

Interesting times! Life as a writer is never going to be routine, there will always be multiple projects and different stages to balance, and family life to fit in too. I’ve never been more exicted about, or ready for, the challenge.