Exploring Options As A Writer

What is a writer? A writer is a person who writes, right? Yes it is that simple, as far as I’m concerned. Whether or not you are a person who shares their words, if you write, then you could legitimately be called a writer, whether or not you accept the title.

What does that mean? Does a writer have to do anything in particular, if they are a writer? Some writers use their words to simply make themselves happier, or calmer – more healed perhaps. Other people write with groups of others with the some interest in writing. Some writers prefer poetry, others prose, but most writers have a love for the written word, even though the writing can be frustrating at times.

So poetry and prose, are two options to think on, and further to those two are the questions of print or online, spoken or in a book, for money or for the love of the word. Some writers never ever share their written words with another person, and may die, leaving many unshared words to be discovered later, or perhaps never found, and who knows what treasures may be lost to humanity though not non-sharing …

But the main point of this post is to look at my own options, because of course they are the ones I know the best. I am a writer, who writes prose and poetry, and have books published in both of these genres. I love poetry, but prose is has a great interest to me in my life, particularly in my role as the editor of the Mallala Crossroad Chronicle, a monthly newsletter for the town on Mallala and beyond, that is available as a hard copy, and online, here.

photo by author – a recent issue of the newsletter I edit.

I enjoy putting this newsletter out every month, and am glad to have a small team of others who either provide me with words they have written themselves, or with material from other sources for me to use. It leads to a lovely range of different and interesting reading material.

I also have some published books, eight so far, with several in various stages of ‘being worked on’. There is a possible chapbook of poems and a little prose perhaps, based on my recent sprained forearm. And there is the long-suffering Cosy Murder Mystery I tell myself I should be writing, constantly, and usually ignore my nagging, although I do write tiny new pieces for that, every now and then.

photo by author – some of my published books

I also have a poetry collection I have just submitted to a publisher, and I’m waiting to hear whether or not they wish to publish it. I hope they do, obviously, but if they don’t want to, there are other options for publication. More importantly is an exciting book I’ve been working on, an anthology of writing, I called for submissions on last year. The submission process has closed now, and I have put it at all together into an anthology, that will be printed soon, and launched in late July, during the Gawler and Adelaide Plains Festival of Words (Recovery).

This will be the biggest most important piece of work I’ve edited I think, with some of the people involved in this project calling it a historically important book. I’m definitely looking forward to sharing the wonderful words I’ve received, and sharing the book with all of the contributors and then others who wish to purchase their own copy.

Of course, I have other writing related things I do as well. I’m involved in the Gawler Poets at the Pub monthly event, which involves a writing related workshop first (sometimes) and then a poetry reading with poets from around coming to the Prince Albert Hotel on the last Sunday of the month, to share their poetry, by reading it to the audience. Fun times there, for sure!

I’m also getting more into the idea of being a public speaker, talking about my writing, reading from my works and doing writing workshops with groups of people. My most recent event was attending an aged care facility, where I read some of my poetry to the group present, and then we all worked hard at it, and produced two brand new poems, which will be published in the newsletter the facility regular puts out for residents.

I am also the President of a writing group, which meets once a week, at the same Hotel as the Gawler Poets at the Pub event. Much writing is done at our meetings, and for the homework to be read the following week. I am also the Competition Secretary for the same group, and we have a poetry competition going at the moment, on the theme of Recovery, with the details available here, if you are interested in taking part.

I’m going to be speaking soon with someone I know who works at a nearby school, one I already have a good working relationship with, and I’m hoping to be working with both teachers and students at that school. It will be great if some of the students get inspired to writing poetry after hearing me speak and present some of my own poems!

I’m blogger, and have recently become involved in an online platform Medium.com and am enjoying myself there, posting small articles about a wide variety of things. It is a site that pays for the contributions received, in certain circumstances, and even though money is far from being the reason why I write, or not the main reason anyway, a little bit of money never goes astray. And given I haven’t even made a dollar there yet, it is certainly not going to make me rich, I don’t think. But the sharing of words is always my main reason for writing, that that is fine.

So this is a bit of news about me, as a writer, how about telling me a bit of your story?

Wasted Words?

I’ve just been looking through some bags of ‘stuff’ I have carefully stored in our house, and realise I have written so many bits and pieces over my years, scraps and scribbles, responses to workshops, ideas written down in writing groups, hand-written, and then forgotten …

If there is a certain number of words to write in a life, I suspect I’ve written all of those words, and more, but what have I done with them? As I looked, I remembered some of what had happened at he particular events, and I realised that some of those words were re-used, to become actual typed up words, and so began another life, in another form.

Some of the words I read probably are now in yet another format, that of a printed book, and surely that is the finest format there is for a book? I certainly think it is. A printed book, the kind of thing you’d find on a bookshelf, either in a home, or library, that is what books are supposed to do, hold words, ever-ready and waiting to be read …

One of our bookshelves

But if I never do anything with those thousands of scrappy hand written words in notebooks and on scraps of paper in those bags, were the words wasted? What do you think? I remember trying to drive a manual car, after learning to drive in an automatic car. Bunny hops, and stalls were my usual fate, until, finally, after much practise, I could change gears, smoothly, and the car would move forward at the proper pace, and with no stalling, and none of those embarrassing bunny hops …

And maybe it’s the same with all of those notes I have, in all of those bags. I was practicing the craft of writing, trying to ‘drive the car’, of my writing career. Some of the workshops in those notes, were workshops I paid to attend, some were workshops others paid me to attend. So in the terms of our modern life, obviously, if others will pay for my work (presenting a workshop), then obviously the words written for the workshops have worth.

And the other words? Well, as with driving, I was writing to achieve smooth writing, that moved along, a thought, a poem, as story, a book, even. There are notes which related to my book series (three of which have been published). There are notes about another book series, which has been, not abandoned, but repurposed, and when the time is right, I may get those notes, words, out again, and move them along the road toward publication too …

So in fact, those words are not wasted, they were valuable to write, practising my craft, increasing my status as a writer too, to be able to present workshops to others, and being paid for it. So even if some of my words never make it into print, they were not in fact wasted at all!

Using words brings me joy, too, of course, and that is a good thing, to be able to find joy in doing what you do, and getting money for it too! What do you think, does your writing bring you joy? Or do you think writing is a waste of time, and your words are wasted? I hope you don’t think that. Practice is a good thing!