As I grew up I continued to write stories, none of which I ever considered for publication, stories in books and magazines were written by clever people, people in the know. It wasn't until I was about 13 that the penny finally dropped.
I was reading a Jackie magazine at the time, some mushy boy meets girl story and remember thinking, I can do that and suddenly realisation hit me like a slap in the face. Within minutes, pen in hand, I began to write.
I don't remember what the story was called, but it was about a girl with asthma who fancied this sporty boy. He was against drinking, smoking or taking any kind of medication in case it ruined his sporting career. To cut a long story short, the girl stopped taking her inhaler in the hope of getting this boy and got sick.
Carefully I typed my story out on my new Olivetti typewriter, a real grown up machine made of metal instead of plastic and dropped it in the post. A few weeks later I got a reply. It was a standard rejection letter, but on the bottom someone had written, good, not right for us, submit again.
I was ecstatic, raced up to my room and abandoning any homework I might of had, got straight on with writing my next story.
15 story rejection later (I'd had a few letters published in various magazines) I began to think I was wasting my time. My heart wasn't in these boy meets girl falls in love stories, as these magazines seemed to want, my heart lay in horror. So I gave up my publishing dream and wrote stories just for myself.
Leaving school, I got various part time jobs in cafes and supermarkets, before finally getting a fulltime one in a children's nursery. I was still writing and on occasion submitting and still getting the standard rejection letters.
At 18 I had my son, two years later a daughter and two years after that another daughter arrived. I was still cramming in a bit of writing, but time was scarce.
I got my first lucky break when Fate magazine in America brought an article I'd written entitled Right Place Wrong Time for $50, I'd written it after a night feed about 3am. Then three months later sold the same piece along with another article about fairies to Prediction.
After that I wrote a few more articles on the supernatural and had varying degrees of success as well as readers true experiences which I sold to Chat and Fate and Fortune.
A few years later I wrote a book, which although got published, sank without trace. Reading it a few years ago, I can understand why. It was terrible. Obviously written by a complete amature who was yet to learn her craft.
Again I stopped submitting, but instead took a writing class to hone my skills and learn something of the mysterious publishing industry. In due course I finished my assignments and got my certificate as well as a few articles, letters and short stories published along the way
After the course was over, I continued to write, but somewhere along the line, despite my successes, I'd lost the nerve to submit, fearing anything I wrote would automatically be rejected. So I wrote for my own pleasure again and because I had to, my head was so full of stories, I just had to let them out.
Jumping forward to the present day, I'm still writing and probably always will. My children have grown up and have families of their own now. I have a full time job working in a nursing home, a rented flat, two psychotic black cats and a very strong desire to succeed.
Yes my determination and drive have returned, better late than never. I wrote a story late last year, just because it popped into my head, I'd been reading another magazine, just happened to pick it up in the local newsagents, just like what happened with the Jackie magazine years ago and decided to submit. The magazine was fiction feast and within three weeks the story had been accepted and payment was on its way.
I was rich. Well, I could put petrol I the car now. But that single acceptance fired up my creative juices again. I've learnt a lot since the early years. I've grown up and toughened up and desperately need to subsidise my income, (caring doesn't pay much)
So this year 2014 is going to be my year. I've started a blog, which you're reading now and hopefully enjoying. I'm writing another three short stories and I've started a book, horror of course, which is up to chapter 4 already. So here's to the future and all it has to offer.
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