New Kid on the Blog...

Well, here I am, my first ever blog, which I’m sure I’ll look back on in years to come and cringe at how awful it is! But I’ve got to get through the first few clumsy attempts before I get into the swing of it I suppose…?

I am here because I love to write. I recently started a home study creative writing course with The Writer’s Bureau and so far I am enjoying it very much. I have entered the course with an open mind and I am surprised how much I have learnt in the first two months. I have never contemplated writing non-fiction before, I have only tried my hand at fiction and poetry. However, I have just completed two non-fiction assignments which have given me a new perspective on my writing. I always thought to write non-fiction articles you either had to be an "expert" in your chosen field, or had to have studied journalism for at least ten years. But no, although a great deal of hard work and research is required, people from all walks of life can write creative factual articles, and possibly even get them published. 

I am looking forward to learning a great deal about the craft of writing as I progress through the course, and I plan to share many of my highs and lows right here.

To begin, I would like to share one of the hardest things I have had to learn so far on the course...

Since I was a teenager at school, learning (eagerly) the do's and don'ts of our lovely English language, I have always inserted two spaces after a full stop when typing. It has become second nature to me, like a close and familiar friend, and I have been typing for many years now. When I submitted my first assignment for assessment a few weeks ago, one piece of advice my tutor gave to me was to only insert one space after a full stop as two is no longer the norm. This is fair comment, but do you think I could change this one little habit? If you look closely you will notice that I have actually mastered it, but not without a fight. The frustration and distraction I have suffered to permanently lose just one little space has quite possibly loosened a small thread of my sanity. I even developed a slight nervous twitch when contemplating the use of the space bar, my usual fluid touch on the keys suddenly disturbed. I reached a definite point of despair, convinced that this silly, insignificant space would be the ruin of my literary dreams.

I had no choice but to calm my anxiety and conquer this battle, so I sent myself back to school and meticulously typed lines: One space after a full stop. One space after a full stop. One space after a full stop. One space after a full stop...you get the picture. After completing enough lines to give myself serious repetitive strain injury, I finally triumphed, and the poor un-loved second space is no more (sniff).

If anyone is actually reading this, please be assured that my future posts will hopefully have more clout! Just bear with me as I find my feet...

Thanks for listening!