Now for the final instalment in my Meet The Writer series that was first shared as part of a 15-day challenge on my author Facebook page back in July. Seems like a lifetime ago now...
#MeetTheWriter Day 11/15...MOVEMENT
Walking...meandering.... gives my mind space to drift off into the storyline. I often puzzle through the roadblocks of my writing as I meander after work. That daily post-work walk also serves to clear the day job out of my head and allow the creative spaces to open up again.
"Dancing" (I use the term loosely as I have very little sense of rhythm) at a gig helps in general. There's a great sense of freedom in it. I love losing myself in the performance. Watching what is going on up on stage closely is also good research for my book babies, especially watching soundcheck when the chance arises.
#MeetTheWriter Day 12/15...FIRSTS...
Before I answer this one, I'll give you a little background. I started to write my first novel in May 2013. Later that year I shared an excerpt from it with a close friend who encouraged me to keep chasing the dream. One small problem - I'm terrified of letting people read what I write. That's a fear that's still very real today but I've got better at dealing with it. My way of attempting to overcome it was to start my blog back on 29 Dec 2013. So to answer the question, this blog post was the first piece of writing I shared publicly https://coralmccallum.co.uk/2013/12/ The journey began right there..
#MeetTheWriter ... DAY 13/15...DREAM
There's two answers to this ...humour me for a moment.
If I could turn back time, I would love to go back to my aunt's house and sit and write out on her sun deck while I listened to the sounds of nature around me.
The current dream (and I will make it happen one day) is not to write at a specific desk but instead is to sit on my favourite beach, listening to the waves crashing in on the shore and just lose myself in the moment with my notebook and pen on my knee.
#MeetTheWriter DAY 14/15....ADVICE...
The best writing advice I have been given to date was given to me by one of my high school English teachers who told me to write about places I love and topics I am passionate about. I think it took me about 30 years to fully understand what he meant by it.
Another creative analogy that has stuck is the one about first drafts being like chucking sand into the sand box. There's time to build castles later. I heed that one when at the end of an evening's writing I start to doubt the quality of the words I've written.
#MeetTheWriter ... Day 15/15... MIRROR
Oh good question to end this 15 days of #MeetTheWriter! I would like my writing to be described as genuine. I write from the heart. I strive to create believable, slightly flawed central characters (no one in this world is perfect) and I do my best to write about characters that people want to get to know. I've had several folk say to me that they want to hear the songs my rock stars sing. I've had folk sigh because they'll never get to see Silver Lake or After Life or The RJ Band on stage. If I can evoke those feelings, along with the laughter and the tears, then I'm happy. The greatest compliment I've been paid to date came from someone at work. After I wrote Stronger Within they approached me in the staff restaurant and said they'd read my book and quite enjoyed it. They followed that comment up by adding that it had encouraged them to read other books. Job done! If I can make someone pick up a book, then that's good enough for me.
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