How, When and Why I Started Writing

The wonderful Rachael Blair has a blog about how she started writing and asked how we all started. Now normally I’d write it to her post but it is such a long story I didn’t want to use up too much of her blogging with my answer. Click on the link and go and read about Rachael’s journey.

Why I started writing. I have no idea, because I hated English with a passion. I started reading Time Romance mag's in my teens and loved the stories. Then I read an article I think it was by Barbara Taylor Bradford about her writing romance novels and thought I could do that, yeah right. I’d also been reading Mills & Boons novels on and off for a while, one of Margaret Way’s was the first M&B I’d read. I loved reading about the Australian outback; Lindsay Armstrong was another I read a lot of at the time. I still have to pick up one of Margaret’s novels if I see a new one available.

When I started well that’s the long part. After reading the article by Barbara, I started my first story. It was about a girl who finds her fiancé in bed with her sister on their wedding day. Very dramatic. Back then in my early days of writing having a computer was a luxury, and not one that we could afford. (Heavens I think my age is showing now.) So I wrote long hand, had my exercise book and trusty pen and would spend hours writing. When I think about it, I wrote much the same way as I do today in that I had three stories going at once. One of my other stories was about a girl who after receiving her first modelling job arrives home to find her long lost father standing in her kitchen talking to her mother; he has also brought his step-son with him. (I might have to revisit that one.) Of course I don’t have said exercise books any more, it a fit one day when I was sure I’d never write again I throw them out. Bad move, very bad move. Anyway that’s getting a head of myself. The third story was about a woman who along with her husband and children moves to the outback to work on one of the large cattle stations. The husband dies in a plane crush (very sad), and cattle station owner steps in to help her through her grieving process, he had lost his wife a few years before hand. So you can see what was going to happen here. Really wish I hadn’t thrown those books out.

Anyway, we moved over to the farm and between getting said farm sorted out, children and school, working, in-laws separating, parents illness and so on, my writing got pushed to one side. Well really it got thrown in the bin. I started tracing my family history and thought it would be great if I could write about my ancestors and their battles to survive in a new colony. I think that was when it all started to happen. I’d allowed myself to dream of writing again even though I did put it off for a few more years.

About four years ago I started getting these mutterings in my head; have to say at first I thought I was going bonkers. I started writing down what they were saying; it was just bits and pieces of things nothing that I could put my finger on and say, “oh now I know what to do”. If that makes any sense at all. Then about two year ago it all come through like a title wave. It was like I opened the gates to a dam and in came all this information. I joined the Romance Writer’s of Australia six months later and as they say the rest is history.

You wouldn’t believe it, I’m going to do a Book in a Month in June with some of my RWAustralia friends, now I was going to finish a couple of my MS’s I have going ATM. But nooooo last night while watching T.V. I had this couple come and visit, seems they have a story to tell. Quiet a nice couple been best friends for years. Had me writing a five page sketch on them. A bit rude pushing in like that, but what can I do? They’ve blocked my other couples until I’m finished with their sketch, so I’ll go with the flow and let them have their time or until the other’s get feed up with waiting and push their way back to front and centre. So what about you? How did you start your writing journey?

Now you can see why I didn’t leave this on Rachael’s site. I ramble too much, anyway my son is here for a visit so I had better go and spend some time with him, I don’t get to see him anywhere near as much as I’d like too.

Bye for now.
Hugs
Sandie