My writing journey

Before I could physically write, I was already, in a sense, a writer. I invented people, worlds and situations. I daydreamed. I “played games”, and assigned roles to my brother and friends. I talked to myself, as well. Past tense...? Well, not entirely – because I'm a writer, and writers are weird. That's my excuse, anyway.

When I was five or six, and able to go beyond the formation of individual sentences, I wrote my first stories. I was that child who loved writing stories at school so much that I wrote my own, out of choice. I found Maths boring and difficult. I have the co-ordination disorder dyspraxia – which, at the time, was undiagnosed – and was, therefore, useless at the so-called “fun” activities: pretty much every sport, basically. I was bullied relentlessly, right through school, and struggled with depression and anxiety, from a very young age. I never fitted in, and longed to, but if I had, then maybe I would have been happy but ordinary, and not a writer. It was the one thing that I was able to do better than average, and I focused on that.

I do have periods of writers' block, for want of a better term. I also have long reading slumps. I don't write every day. I would like to say that I do, but I don't. That's just the truth. I currently have many health issues, physical and mental health. I have been let down so many times, by people I thought I could rely upon – family members, who have been less than supportive, to put it mildly – and so-called “friends”, who have hurt me deeply. Poetry has often helped me through, and currently, I do have a novel that I am working on – an old project, which I revived a few years ago. I am making slow progress, but getting there. It's a project that means so much to me, more than I can express - and yet, I am terrified of failure. Sometimes, the fear leaves me paralysed, and I don't get anything done at all.

Still, I do believe in what I am doing, with all my heart, and I know that I have to finish my novel. I did finish another, and shelved the first draft, without revising, which I am okay with. In my heart, I felt, and still do, that finishing was enough, in that instance.

This is just a very brief summary of where I am at, with my writing, but it's a start. I want to start everywhere and say everything, but that is impossible. Writing is my life. I've been in some dark places, and I truly believe that I wouldn't be here without my fiction and poetry.

How do you stay inspired when you don't receive support?

If you are someone who feels fully supported by your family and friends, then that's awesome. Maybe you are secure in the knowledge that, if you set up a new page on Facebook or Twitter right now, your friends and family would automatically "like" or follow, and post links to your page. If you were to bring out anything from a poetry collection to a novel, your loved ones would be there to support and encourage you, and might even - God forbid - purchase copies of your book. Sadly, not all of us are in this position. This blog post is aimed specifically at those who do not feel encouraged or supported, and feel like giving up on their dreams - because long-term writing goals, such as writing a novel, are not easy to sustain, in the face of zero enthusiasm, including from those whose support you have come to depend upon. Being a writer is an uphill battle, and lonely at times, even for introverts, like myself.

In my opinion, all we can do is to carry on doing what we do. One positive aspect of knowing that people won't support what I do purely out of love, is the knowledge that what I do achieve is down to me - and my talent, and hard work, or lack of. If you are not guaranteed to sell a single copy of your books, even to family or friends, you should write, anyway. You should work on your craft, and ensure that your work is the best that it can possibly be, so that strangers, with no reason to care about you or what you write, will want to read what you put out there. At the end of the day, it isn't a popularity contest, and I don't actually want people to buy my novel, or novels, if and when they are published, out of kindness, or because they care about me, as a person. It isn't me they should be caring about, but my characters.

I will continue to do what I do. I will continue to "like" friends' Facebook pages, and follow them on Twitter, because it costs me nothing to do so. I will focus on my writing, as much as I can, and I will speak out on behalf of everyone who has ever felt alone, as a creative artist. I believe in you, and you need to believe in you. Rejection hurts, but you should never give up on your dreams because of it. You should instead become stronger, as a result.

Welcome to my new blog

I hope to add some content soon.  I am also in the process of setting up an additional Twitter account, but am currently experiencing some technical issues with this. 

Thank you for checking out this blog.