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Intro

Hi, I'm Glenda.  I am studying English Lit and Creative Writing with the OU, and doing a 40 hour week job.  I am finding it incredibly stressful, and any confidence I had in my ability as a writer has taken a huge knock.  I would love to hear from anyone starting out on a writing course, or writing for fun or to be published, to find out the highs and lows to expect on my journey, or just to say hello!

Thanks - look forward to hearing from  you

Comments

  • HI Glenda


    well done you - that's a lot to be going on with. I wish you well.

  • Hi Glenda, sorry you're feeling knocked back with your writing. I think I'm fairly safe in saying that you are in good company. Even the most successful of writers have all had to go through the learning curve, so don't give up. Learning to write well is no different to learning any other artistic skill. Whether you're a fledgling writer, musician, painter or dancer - it doesn't come handed on a plate and the secret is to keep learning and practising. 
    Good luck and welcome to the forum.
  • Hello Glenda, and welcome.
    Gosh, you are a busy bee!

    It's always hard to perform under stress so don't misinterpret that as lack of talent. Your best writing will come when you have a clear head, and I'm sure you will find it enjoyable when you can write at your own pace. 

    The highs come from seeing an idea through from birth to completion; acknowledgement of that through comment or publication is an added bonus, of course.

    As a note of caution, be prepared for rejection; it comes with the territory, much like actors go to many auditions before they are picked for the right role. Just remember not to take that personally.

    There is so much joy in creating a piece, though, that I am sure you'll gain an immense amount of pleasure from honing your skill - and you have the rest of your life to put it into practice.
  • Hello Glenda.

    We all get those confidence knocks, but they pass.

    Good luck with your OU studies.
  • Hello Glenda - welcome to the forum. You've set yourself quite a task, by the sound of things - I'm not sure I'd have the stomach for such an undertaking.

    I think it's only natural for your confidence to take a hit when you commence a project like this - perhaps it's the realisation of how much work is to be done (our literary endeavours all sound wonderful when they're in embryonic stage). 

    But as you write and learn and see your output improving by degrees, your confidence will increase in measure.

    You will find lots of support and guidance here, I'm sure.

  • Thank  you so much for all your responses.  Where are people in the process?  Has anyone been published?

  • Also, what is the best way to use the forum, does anyone have any advice for me to get the best out of it?

  • Many, many people use this forum, Glenda, some of whom are very active, while others prefer to watch from the sidelines. There's a wealth of experience here which means that, usually, any writing query will get answered. Many writers have been published, many are self-published. Between us, we write across all genres and in all formats.

    You will see that there are pages of conversations, or threads. You can start your own if you'd like to ask something, or you can use the search function to see whether a topic has already come up. 

    It's useful in terms of support, advice, information or just for a general chat about nothing in particular (we do that a lot!). Have a look at some of the threads for an idea of what goes on, but we're pretty much open to anything that's relevant to a writer's world.
  • Hello Glenda!
  • Hi Glenda! That is a lot of hours and doing a Uni course at the same time must be tricky. Does it matter when you get assignments in? Does it have to be within a certain time? We are all different. I did an MA and wrote practically all the time. I had the best year of my life but didn't have to work at the same time - I had a 14 year old son but he practically looked after himself and my daughter had just gone to uni. But one of the other people was a teacher in London and had to commute to Bath to do it. And he had two young kids and another one the way. Others had part time job and other full time jobs - one was a Dr! I couldn't have done it as well as something else. 

    I hope you manage to cope somehow as it is so useful having that input. 

    Everyone here is very helpful so you can as anything. You will find lots of different writers here at all stages, and some threads are just 'play' threads where we have fun or talk about things other than writing - one thread is just about what we are doing at this second or what we are thinking.
  • Hello *waves*
  • Hello Glenda. 
  • I think it's a goodbye from Glenda...
  • If writing is a genuine passion, you'll always find the time.

    I wrote my first two novels while out of the house 12 hours a day at work. I'd come home, eat quickly and write until bedtime. It did, admittedly, put some strain on my marriage.

    With practice and focus, you'll soon get used to writing whenever you can: on a train, during a break, while watching TV. That's a good thing to learn.

    Set a realistic minimum word count to achieve each day. It will increase as you get better at tuning out the world.

    I'm about to start my 11th novel and expect to be writing around 2000 words a day no matter what other responsibilities I have. If that means getting up earlier or going to bed later (or taking my laptop on holiday) that's what I'll do.
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