Mother Writes: February 2013

Wednesday, 13 February 2013

This is it!

Someone else seeking inspiration from glorious Granada

So, this is it. I have about 20 final agents to send my manuscript to. I have a killer cover letter which cannot possibly get any better, I have an enticing (I think!) synopsis and at the moment, I'm going through the first few chapters with a fine tooth comb, making little tweaks here and there, tightening it all up. Then before I leave for Nairobi, I want to send it out again and if this bears no fruit, I need to bow out gracefully (as opposed to wailing and tearing at my hair!) and explore digital publishing avenues. As I keep telling myself (I'm trying to convince myself here), digital publishing is still publishing and the possibilities are very exciting. Plus it's potentially more lucrative these days if you tap into the right market.

I have spent far too long on this book to just shove it in a (metaphorical) drawer and put it down to experience. And more than that, I do still believe in it, I really, really do! I want this book to be read. I want my family to read it, I want my friends to read it, after all, what are words if not to be read? So whether on screen or paper, by the time this year is out, I am more determined than ever that In the shade of the orange tree will stop being just 'my' book and people can understand more what I've had my nose buried in for the past several years!

Monday, 11 February 2013

Snakes and little green pigs

The other day, my son came back from nursery with a snake he had made to celebrate Chinese new year. When my eldest daughter asked me what animals we all were and I wasn't sure, she was horrified! So I've hastily rectified this situation and it turns out that this year is my year, the year of the snake. With this in mind, we joined the throngs yesterday in China Town in the bitterly cold rain to celebrate, ate some noodles, bought some firecrackers and paper dragons and finally warmed up in a cafe with hot chocolate.

Since this is 'my' year (and I didn't make any new years resolutions the first time round!), my Chinese new year resolution is to try to be more pro-active with my writing and writing-related activities. To kickstart this, on saturday I went to Brighton to help out with a creative writing workshop for teenagers. A friend of a friend has created Little Green Pig, an organisation that celebrates the power and joy of the written word with both primary and secondary age children - fantastic, so inspiring. In four years, she's built this up out of nothing and it really got me thinking, I could do something similar in Kenya. It's not enough to just have ideas, we have to get off our butts and follow them through. Let's hope this year of the snake momentum is behind me.

Mother Writes...What's it all about?

When I was little, I imagined with the supreme confidence of a child that when I was all grown up, I'd be a celebrated writer. And by grown-up, I probably meant about eighteen. The concept of even reaching the age of thirty, let alone beyond, was off my radar and my seven-year old self shuddered at the ominious thought of not having published at least several novels by that grand old age.

Fast forward to the present. Here I am, age thirty-five, wife to a lovely hubby and mother to three gorgeous children. Now, am I writer? My seven-year old self would hold a very strong opinion on this: No, because I don't have a single published novel to my name. But I'm pleased to say that now I'm all grown-up, I'm also a bit more measured and realistic in my expectations of myself. Don't get me wrong - I love my seven-year old self for believing I could achieve that much but I have, over the years, come to an important conclusion:

If you dance, you are a dancer. If you paint, you are a painter. And if you write, you are a writer.

But we have to actually do it, not just talk about doing it. It's all too easy to procrastinate about our creative endeavours and that's all I ask of myself now: to create; to write. And if I'm lucky enough to get something published (which I'm pleased to say that I have done, in the form of short stories, reviews and articles), well, that's a bonus. And that's what this blog offers: little slices of honesty on my plate of life as mother, wife and creator of words. It's often not easy to juggle all three, particularly dealing with bouts of chronic insomnia. But I have to trust this is all part of the journey, and challenges are what make life interesting.