I was never very academic at school – I could just about do arithmetic, but I couldn’t see the sense in geometry, and algebra was a complete mystery to me. It still is! I fared better in English and, although I found it hard to spell correctly, I really shone when it came to creative writing. My imagination ran riot and the ideas tumbled onto the page when I put the pen to the paper. Everything I thought about seemed to have its own individual story and it gave me great satisfaction to weave my thoughts into an imaginative tale. I was fortunate enough to have one teacher who saw around the bad spelling and noticed that I had a small talent. She encouraged me to write down my thoughts – and I’ve never stopped.
I’m not a great talker, but I am a good listener. As I’ve gone through life I’ve found that people love to talk about themselves. Some people have had incredibly interesting lives, others have done funny or unusual things, and most of them have had high points and regrets. I always enjoy listening to someone talking about their journey through life and often it inspires me to put pen to paper. I also love to read, especially history or historical novels.
I think that we’re living in a great era for all those who have a passion for writing. Not only do we have word processors to work on (with great spell-checkers), but there is a wealth of help to be found on the Internet for budding authors, and there are writing courses that one can enroll on. Independent publishing has never been easier and it is a great way to share your passion with the world.
