Starting again

So this is my third attempt at starting a blog! Truth be told, I'm not very good at keeping on top of them. As an aspiring writer, struggling to find time to write, it just seems like another thing to make space for in my life. However, as things are starting to take off for me as a freelance writer, I feel like I need a place to keep a record of my writing and showcase things I am involved in.

A bit about me first then. I am 39 years old, I have two children aged 4 and 8, and I live in Horncastle in the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds. I teach English at a secondary school in the county, which I won't name in case any of them come looking for me - believe it or not they do! You'd think they'd have better things to do!

I have always wanted to be a writer. When it came to choosing courses at university, I knew I wanted there to be a creative writing element, but I didn't have the confidence to commit to it fully. I needed a fall back plan in case that didn't work out. So I found a few universities with courses that combined English Language and Creative Writing, and settled on Sheffield University as my first choice and University of Wales, Bangor as my second choice.

Bangor University (C) N Chadwick

I had a boyfriend who lived in Lincolnshire and wasn't going off to university, so I was really hoping to get my first choice. Honestly, until the moment I opened my results, I really thought I'd got the grades! But it wasn't to be, and I ended up going to university in Bangor. At the time, we were both devastated, but actually a long distance relationship turned out to be great for me, as it meant I could focus on my studies and ended up getting a First!

But I digress. In the second year of my degree, the modules that I wanted to study for English Language weren't compatible with the creative writing modules, so I had to drop this part of the course. I went to see my Creative Writing tutor and explained part of the reason for my choice was that I was getting much lower grades in my writing modules: I was getting 75-85% in most modules but only 65% for the writing. He encouraged me to reconsider, and revealed that I was actually top of the class!

My mind was made up - I wanted to study Child Language Acquisition and Forensic Linguistics, and I couldn't do that if I kept up the creative writing. So what was the solution?

I started looking for alternative ways to continue with creative writing and stumbled upon the Writers Bureau Comprehensive Writing Course. This seemed to be a win-win. At the time they were offering a moneyback guarantee if you didn't make back the cost of the course in earnings from writing, plus you could complete the course at your own pace with no final deadline - essentially a course for life!

This ended up being a positive and a negative. Without any deadlines, I could fit it around my life easily. In reality though, that often meant going years in between reading modules and completing assignments. I completed a few modules while at university, then a few before I had my children, then a couple once the children were born, but I never really got momentum going.

Then Covid hit... you may be thinking, "Ideal, plenty of time to write!" Not if you were a keyworker and a parent! Juggling teaching remotely, going in to teach keyworker children on a rota and home schooling my own kids was a nightmare! But seeing so many people using that time to develop their skills and achieve their goals really inspired me, and once things started to get back to normal I decided to start putting more effort into achieving my own goals.

At the end of 2020 I started reading modules and working on assignments again. My first was an article about camping in Norfolk, which I will share on here some time. I wrote it specifically for the Caravan Club Magazine, but they weren't interested in it, and I didn't have the confidence to rewrite it for a different publication.

My next assignment was to write either a biographical or autobiographical piece. I didn't feel like my life was interesting enough to write something autobiographical, so I started thinking about who I could write about. I had noticed a plaque on the wall of the Town Hall in Louth commemorating Margaret Wintringham, first British-born female MP, and wondered why I'd never heard of her, so I started conducting some research. I was fascinated by her story, so started putting together an article for the local magazine, the Lincolnshire Poacher. I was thrilled when the piece was accepted for publication! You can read it for free online here: Lincolnshire Poacher Autumn 2021 - Digital Copy (lincolnshirelife.co.uk)

Buoyed by my success, I then rewrote the article for a national audience, and was delighted when it was accepted for publication by This England magazine.

My article in This England magazine

My next assignment was to interview someone, and I was dreading it. Who would I interview? I didn't know anyone famous. Then it occurred to me, I could interview my friend Angie, breastfeeding guru and doula extraordinaire! Thankfully she agreed to it, and we had a lovely chat about her family, her background, and how she got into breastfeeding support. It didn't feel like an interview at all and was such a great experience. I wrote up the article and sent it to Green Parent magazine, who unfortunately didn't want it. I rewrote it for Juno Magazine and they accepted it.

Juno magazine cover, Winter 2021

My final non-fiction task was to write a book proposal. I chose to write mine on Margaret Wintringham and tried it with a couple of publishers, but neither were interested, which knocked my confidence.

I then moved on to the fiction part of my writing course. It was strange, because I originally signed up to the course because I wanted to write fiction, and the non-fiction was just something to be endured, but I actually loved writing non-fiction. I've always loved research, and writing non-fiction means that you've always got a starting point; there's no staring at a blank page, like I find myself doing with fiction! So I've found the move to non-fiction daunting, so my commitment to the course has lapsed again, unfortunately. However, that lifetime guarantee means it's not a problem, and I know I can get back to it at some point.

At the start of 2022, when I knew my youngest would be starting school in September, I considered increasing my hours at work. I teach part-time, and I'm in school Monday to Wednesday. But I decided instead that I would spend that time on trying to make something of my writing. In October I signed up to Upwork and have since worked for several clients - again I will share some of this work in a later post.

Before long, I realised I had made enough money to equal the amount I paid for the course, which meant I could request a certificate of competence from the Writers Bureau. Looking back at what I'd achieved as a result of the course, I decided to take a chance and put myself forward for the Writers Bureau Student of the Year Award. I was proud to be shortlisted, and my story, along with those of the winner and other shortlisted writers can be seen here: Student Of The Year (writersbureaucourse.com)