Critique

I have recently joined a writers group. For the first 14 yrs I had done and been alone with my writing. So being around a group of writers was a daunting prospect. I was really nervous about submitting a piece for critiquing as I had this vision of people looking over the top of their glasses, all shaking their heads with extreme disapproval at what they had just read. It's what school was like for me, so that's what I was expecting when my turn came for submission.

What I did find was a group of dedicated people who really care about the other people sitting at the table. None of them were condescending, or put themselves above the others. Basically we are all the same so that's how we are all treated. I submitted a piece of flash fiction it's a piece I posted here around Christmas time, called 'Long Haul' originally titled 'Why' also posted here. I got so much helpful feedback that once I got the time, I sat down and sorted through the comments.

I felt like I was opening a Christmas present it was that good. I sorted through all the comments and tweaked the story once again pulling it tighter together. I'm lucky, the writers group I belong to is generous and caring, but I have heard horror stories about other writing groups. So thanks to Andrew,Jan,Kelly,Maggie,Deb,Robin and our group leader Karen. I'm glad to be part of the team.

Trials

Once again it's been a while since my last post. I try to get back here as often as possible, but life gets in the way. Since my last post I have changed jobs, my mother was taken seriously I'll and I had to train to get my forklift licence. All things that have caused me stress in one way or another. At my darkest point I found writing to be a comfort. I have used my words as a healing agent since I started writing, but while waiting for my mother to come out of her latest surgery, I used thoughts and memories of beauty to help me through the darkness.

It helped, I had something I could keep reading that helped me deal with situations out of my control. It's hard when life snatches the controls out of you hands and your flying on a wing and a prayer. I guess at times like these we all need comfort and understanding. It also shows us who we really are, I know that I went through a lot of stress and found it hard at times to deal with. But I got up every day and went to work as well as to the hospital and carried on as best as I could. Surly it's all we can do.

Everyone goes through this at one time or another, please don't be afraid to talk about it to your friends or family, they will support you and be there for you. I know this for a fact. I would like to thank everyone that has been there for me in the last two weeks, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, if you ever need me I will be there for you as well.

Teacher

I found something today that I honestly thought had gone by way of the Dodo. It's something I wrote on the 17/6/1997 it's simply called, "Teacher." It's short and sweet and I think quite poignant. I'm not sure why I wrote it, but it was on my very first PC which died years ago. I actually found a hard copy and I'm so glad I did. Here is Teacher.

Teacher

The greatest teacher of wisdom is Pain

The finest teacher for learning is experience

The ugliest teacher is lust

The prettiest teacher is joy

The hardest teacher to understand is life

The strangest teacher is yourself.

Kev copyright 1997

Are Writers Broken?

Believe me, I'm not being flippant when I ask this, plus I will clarify the question. It's more an observation really I suppose, I know from personal experience that I heal when I write. You see I had a rough time as a kid and carried around my fair share of pain, yes I was broken and in need of repair. Writing did this for me, it allowed me to go to places in my head that I'd never been to before. It allowed me to explore areas that I would never have gone to otherwise. When you write fiction you can go where others fear to tread. You have the ability to explore the dark side of yourself and others, it's that part that is hidden away shunning the light of day.

I find it incredibly exhilarating to come up with story lines that make people say."Where the hell did that come from?" You draw on your own pain, you write from your very soul or what's left of it, and because you have been there, you know how to touch others with your words. I see it also with other writers, you only have to talk to them to know we are all coming from the same place. Most writers are extremely sensitive and wonderfully supportive, we are emotional and love music. I can't function without a tune running through my head. I especially love to write to music as do most writers I know. All the years I have been writing have also been years of healing for me. The one thing I worry about is that if I heal, will I lose my edge will my writing not be as powerful? If I suddenly start to love everything in sight will my words turn to flowers? Now that's a scary thought. I think for my own sanity I must stay a little broken, besides being normal is a little too weird, even for me.

So are writers broken? Are you a broken writer, or one that's healing like myself?

Incredible Journey

When I started writing all those years ago, I had no idea of where it was truly going to take me. All I knew back then was that I had finally found the one thing in my life that had always been lacking and was completely untapped, my creativity. I had never been so happy and so busy all at once. Every day was a new adventure in research and story direction. Each new fact screamed at me and told me that it was a perfect piece for the jigsaw puzzle that is Dream Raider.

I have been on this incredible journey ever since and I don't want it to ever end. I love escaping and hiding, running through my own worlds, breathing the air of my own creation. When I write that's where I go, I am totally immersed in my own world. I experience the world through my characters eyes. When I'm in the zone, well lets just say I can't type fast enough. Dream Raider has given me far more than I ever thought possible, it has provided me with opportunities I would never have otherwise had. It has also provided more pleasure than I have ever experienced before with anything else I have achieved.

I have met some truly wonderful people through this book and can highly recommend this journey to anyone also contemplating it. "WARNING!" It is not easy and can be thankless and sometimes soul destroying. But just like every other thing in this life, you have to experience the bad to truly appreciate the good. Take it from me though the good stays while the bad fades, and the incredible journey continues.

You can do it too.

When I started to hunt and peck on my first home pc, I had no idea what to do or how to write a novel. I was a complete novice, that's probably a good thing, I found my way in the dark by feel and by stumbling around. I started with a vision of a small story, about ten to fifteen pages and that was all. Once I started, the story started to grow as did the characters, I watched them all grow and fill out before my eyes, as did the storyline.

What started as five thousand words, turned into fifty thousand and one year later, I finished. I had no idea what I had started and how interesting the path was going to become. The best things to happen to me have all happened on this road that I discovered fourteen years ago. You don't have to be educated, you don't have to even have a complete story mapped out in your mind all you have to have is self belief. I never passed a single subject at school, my spelling and grammar give me grief to the extreme, as you are probably aware if you follow my blog.

Once again it never stopped me, but it did make it all a lot harder. Even today I suppose I do it tougher than a lot of my counterparts that have degrees or at least a better understanding of the English language. I was always the kid at the back of the class tearing his hair out just trying to grasp the basics in life. While all the others in the class were finished, I was still trying to understand the first question. But you know what, I did it, I finished my first novel at the age of thirty four. You can do it too.

Eye's Open

I know I probably don't blog as much as I should, I struggle with this as I'm aware people like yourselves want to know and be updated regularly. Since my last blog things have really started to move. We have made significant inroads into major book chains where we are given some respect these days instead of being treated like something that is stuck to the bottom of their shoes. It's amazing isn't it how money talks, we proved ourselves in sales and the doors that were locked to us before were suddenly flung open.

The sad fact is that so many authors approach book stores today that they are tired of seeing them turn up. You are given a time and a date and expected to fail and go home, never to be seen again. Unfortunately this does happen all too often. I've been in this industry long enough now to see the train wrecks and the bodies strewn around the wreckage. I've been in a few myself, I certainly can't say I don't have any injuries or scars either.

This industry is just like every other, it's not glamorous or an easy ride. So many of us start out with stars in our eyes and blinkers on if you hang around long enough you start to realise that the stars are from the constant knocks your taking and the blinkers have been hiding the truth.

If you want your project to succeed then you have to make it happen, no one else is going to do it for you. Don't leave your work in the hands of others, they will let you down, no one will put as much effort into your work as you do. Third parties are the worst, things you can't do yourself and you trust others to do. They promise you the world and it all sounds great until they deliver, invariably late and to a sub standard. Frustrating is the word, when your heart and soul is there and others just trample all over it not caring.

On the other side of the coin you can also be lucky and find a few that are as considerate as you are. Hang on to these they are worth their weight in gold. We do have a couple like this and are grateful of it, but they are few and far between.

It's not all doom and gloom but I want you to be aware that it is important to go in with your eyes wide and your mind alert. Don't be fooled by someone shining you on, take everything said with a grain of salt. I don't want to see another train wreck.