Writing doesn’t always come easily to me. Take this blog for instance. I know that I want to publish a new blog every Thursday. I even have blog topics planned through until July. But have I written the blogs in advance? Well, some, but not all. Specifically not this one! I am writing this after 10pm on Wednesday evening (when really I should just go to bed) and I will have to get up early on Thursday morning to type this on to my website.
Even though I wrote this blog on Wednesday evening, in order to type it on Thursday morning, now that Thursday morning is here, I am still amending it as I type. It took me 30 minutes to choose an appropriate photo and find a quote. Not really the best use of my time. Procrastination is an art which I am fine-tuning.
It’s not all disorganisation and procrastination. I have already written a number of blogs for June and July. So why does it happen sometimes and not others? It is because I often write following inspiration. That is, after all, more enjoyable. However, waiting for inspiration to strike does mean that there may be weeks at a time when I just don’t write at all.
In order to feel more like a writer I have enrolled on a Creative Writing Course with my local college. It starts today – 25 April 2019! I am excited and daunted in equal measure. Excited because this is something I have wanted to do for years but never had the courage or confidence or belief that I should do something for me. Daunted because it may turn out that I can’t write! Yes, I have published two children’s picture books (available from my shop) and I have received great feedback on them: wonderful stories with an important subject; lively and cheerful illustrations; etc. Children’s picture books are not critiqued for their writing as such, but more for the overall ‘feel’ of the book. I’m going to the course with an open mind and with the objective to enjoy myself. I hope to get lots of ideas which may develop into stories, maybe a few will become books; expertise from experienced authors; the opportunity to share this journey with others; constructive feedback on my work; and to get some discipline to my writing. More important than these though is that I hope to gain in confidence in my writing and myself.
Dorothy Parker said “I hate writing. I love having written.” I don’t feel hate for writing, in fact if all I had to do all day was write, I would love it. I would love the freedom to do so without other responsibilities dragging me away or impinging guilt on me. It’s the combination of wanting to write yet not having enough time to do so which makes it a love/hate thing. Dorothy was right about “love having written”. To be able to say that I have created a story from nothing but my imagination is heartening. So the difficulties incurred doing the writing, whether that is a story, a blog or a press release are finally outweighed by the warm glow in my heart when the piece is finished.
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