Having launched my new website and announced I will be writing a regular Blog, I now have to put my money where my mouth is and write something. But what? I think the best I can do is share some of my thoughts about being a writer based on my experience over the last 50 years. Let’s think of these Blogs as “Random Ramblings Of A Writer”. A good place to start is by sharing some of the questions I am often asked in the Q&A session at the end of one of my talks. Recently I was asked: “Have you got any advice for my nephew who wants to be a writer?”
Well, that’s not exactly something you can provide a useful answer to in a Q&A session and I said so. However, based on my writing career of more than 50 years, there are always a few words of advice I can offer to anyone who would like to be a writer. On this occasion I settled for:
“Write. Don’t just talk about it.”
“Use your own voice – don’t try and imitate someone else.”
“Don’t try and write the final draft the first time round.”
I pointed out that all my books went through several drafts before the structure and the balance were right.
Incidentally, I believe that an image is a good way to attract attention but if all I did was use pictures of me or my books, that would be very dull. So here is a picture of a house on a Cornish cliff top where I have often stayed. I have never written a book there, but have often sat looking out at the view while making notes for a new writing project. The line from Winnie-the-Pooh comes to mind. “Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits.”.
