Tag Archives: writingcommunity

Interview with a Writer ~ E.S. David

Posted on by vgemmell

This week I’m delighted to welcome another Scottish based YA author, E.S. David, who writes Young Adult fantasy. His debut Trials of Aqouril will be released next month, (the first in an adventure fantasy series), and sounds very intriguing. Read on to find out more about E.S. David’s book and writing life.

Good luck with the release!

Author Bio

E.S. David is a Scottish author of young adult fantasy, inspired by his country’s ancient fables and stories. He likes to capture the reader’s attention with complex and relatable characters and throw them into unpredictable environments to see how they cope. Outside of reading/writing, E.S. David loves watching a good film or tv series and drinking far too much tea.

When did you first start writing?

Shortly after I finished university. I used to travel down to London on the train to visit friends and family and would work on my writing during those long journeys. Over the pandemic, I spent more time working on my debut novel and trying to develop my style of writing.

What do you write?

I mostly write YA fantasy. I love thinking about sweeping lands, magical elements and morally complex characters and mixing them all together to create a story. I am currently working on an adventure fantasy series with the first book due to be published at the end of November 2025.

What was your first published piece of work? (or about to be published work)

That will be “The Trials of Aqouril”, which will be published in November this year. It’s about a teenage girl – Erica Brooks – who ends up being transported to an enthralling world called Aqouril where she discovers she has elemental powers. In order to find out why she has been brought here, she has to undergo a series of trials to learn the truth about Aqouril and how it links to her past.

Why do you write?

I write because I wanted to challenge myself to come up with something imaginative, exciting and above all, original. I see the challenge of writing a book being a bit like completing a jigsaw puzzle. Except the jigsaw pieces are blank and only show the full picture once it’s been completed! Writing encourages you to be innovative, take risks and see where your story and characters take you and that’s what I love about it.

What, or who, has helped you on your writing journey?

My family, friends and girlfriend have all been very supportive of my writing and are all excited for the debut of my first novel. I also take a lot of inspiration from stories in history to help me come up with ideas for future events in my stories.

Share a writing low with us. What did you learn from this?

The biggest low – which I’m sure is common for a lot of writers – is being rejected by agents/publishers. It’s like being turned down for a job when you’ve put so much time and effort into researching and rehearsing what you’re going to say. To be a writer, you have to be persistent and willing to take onboard constructive criticism about your writing. On the other hand, you also need to back yourself and your ideas as you might just need to find the right publisher/agent for you.

Share a writing high?

The biggest high was getting my contract through for my first novel to be published. In a month or so, I’m sure that will be replaced by my first ever publication day. However, the initial thrill of finally getting the publication of my first book underway has been a dream of mine for years and I’m very grateful that The Book Guild have given me the opportunity to share my story.

Any tips for new writers?

I feel like a new writer myself so I’m probably not the best person for advice! My biggest tip though would be to never give up on your ideas. They might not be for everyone and you might need to reflect on any critiques you are given, but if you are open to developing your writing, you give yourself a much better chance of achieving your goals.

Do you have a regular writing routine, or do you write in frantic bursts?

I try and dedicate at least one evening a week to doing some writing, whether that’s editing a chapter I’ve written or working on a new one. It can be difficult with work and other commitments, but it’s important to find time to get into your writing space and chip away at it.

Where do you write? (A dedicated space, or on-the-go)

I have a desk in my flat that I tend to write at. I also have a playlist of films scores and other music I find moving to get myself into the right mindset.

Any stand-out books you have read recently?

I’m just back from holiday where I got to read Pet Semetary for the first time. It’s my first Stephen King read as well! I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it did give me chills!

Where can we find your book, and find out more about you?

Links to book: https://bookguild.co.uk/bookshop/young-adult/the-trials-of-aqouril

https://guardianbookshop.com/the-trials-of-aqouril-9781835743270/

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-trials-of-aqouril/e-s-david//9781835743270

Find E.S. David on Instagram, X and Threads: @esdavidauthor

Interview with a Writer ~ Lynsey Helen Mitchell

Posted on by vgemmell

Today I’m delighted to feature debut author Lynsey Helen Mitchell on my blog. Lynsey is a friend and colleague. We work in different offices now, and I was excited when I found out Lynsey had completed her Young Adult horror book. Not for the faint-hearted, The Dark Twin, is a perfect tense read for when the nights draw in, and you want to scare yourself a bit…. Here’s Lynsey’s interview below, and I wish her lots of luck with her writing career (have to add I admire the motivation to write in the morning before work!). Links to Lynsey’s social media and where to buy her book are at the bottom of the post.

Biography

Lynsey was born in Clydebank and studied Creative Writing and English Literature at Middlesex University, graduating in 2011. She is employed as a careers adviser, and lives in the West of Scotland with her boyfriend and cat and they are expecting their first baby boy. Lynsey recently released her YA horror, The Dark Twin, which is her debut book.

When did you first start writing?

I started writing when I was a child, always enjoying any opportunity to write stories as part of my school work, and spending time at home writing stories. I would enjoy writing stories and poems about the family pets and different friends and family members.

What do you write?

I mainly enjoy writing fiction – short stories and longer pieces. I love horror and thrillers, so all of my stories are around this genre.

What was your first published piece of work?

The Dark Twin is my first published piece of work, although I’ve been published on a website for winning a short story competition before.

Why do you write?

Because I love it. I find it therapeutic to just get lost in my story and switch off from the real world.

What, or who, has helped you on your writing journey?

Speaking to other writers, like Vikki and learning about their experiences. The book On Writing by Stephen King gave me a lot of insight into the mind of one of my favourite writers and how they found their (very successful) writing style. Taking part in challenges like NaNoWriMo help me to become productive. While it doesn’t produce a finished product, it helps to start a first draft and to get a proper feel for my story.

Share a writing low with us. What did you learn from this?

After losing my mum in 2013, I had so much going on, that the last thing I could think of was sitting down to write. I took the opportunity the following year to take part in NaNoWriMo to get myself motivated again and this helped me to rediscover my love of writing.

Share a writing high?

Publishing The Dark Twin. It was the NaNoWriMo project that sat on my shelf for far too long, so I was proud of myself for finally getting it published.

Share some of your favourite lines from reviews, or comments you have received about your work, which boosted your confidence (tell us what piece of work it relates to)

Some of the comments I received about The Dark Twin include:

“I couldn’t sleep a wink after reading it.”

“Couldn’t put it down.”

Any tips for new writers?

Find a routine and style that works for you. Some writers advise to write every day, but that doesn’t work for me. I prefer to write when I feel inspired.

And for all writers; any tips for keeping motivated? And how do you find time to write?

Like I’ve said, challenges like NaNoWriMo help to motivate me to sit down and write. In the last few years, I’ve found myself being more productive in the mornings, getting up a little earlier before work and getting some writing in before I start.

Do you have a regular writing routine, or do you write in frantic bursts?

I’m definitely more of a frantic burst kind of person. If I love what I’m writing, the story comes. Sometimes I feel like I need to write it down before I forget it!

Where do you write? (A dedicated space, or on-the-go)

I definitely don’t have a dedicated space. It doesn’t work for me. Sometimes it’s the kitchen table, sometimes the couch. Just wherever I feel most comfortable.

Any stand-out books you have read recently?

A few great books I’ve read recently include Keep it in the Family by John Marrs, Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson.

Where can we find your book, and find out more about you?

A link to buy The Dark Twin: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Twin-Lynsey-Helen-Mitchell/dp/1068161507/

Author Website: https://lynseyhelenmitchell.co.uk/

Instagram: lynseyhmitchellauthor

TikTok: @lynseywrites

Happy 2025

Posted on by vgemmell

I was lucky enough to extend my festive holiday this year and flew off to sunny skies just as my office was re-opening. A dose of sunshine and relaxation was the perfect way to recharge and have space to reflect on my writing and what I want to achieve in 2025.

I often find when I’m away from everyday life the creative and ‘ideas’ side of my brain really wakes up. I even managed to ‘type’ a short story in my phone while I was sitting out on my balcony in the sun. Having space to think properly also allowed me to reflect on how I could use my blog here in a bit more of a consistent and creative way.

A lot of young people (and adults!) I come into contact with who have an interest in writing are yet to find supportive communities, and don’t know where to start when delving into the world of writing.

Often when I do school or community workshops I’m asked questions around the practical side of writing, as well as my own experiences and how I have approached things.  I realised there is a lot I could write about on here, starting with where my writing journey began, and all of the different experiences and creative projects/competitions/workshops I have found to be helpful along the way.

I am no expert by any means within the industry, or a big success, but what I’ve had are real experiences – mostly good, sometimes deflating- over a large period of my life, a lot of which I was lucky enough to be introduced to thanks to being immersed in a supportive writing community (which started with a supportive writing Mum).

Over the years I’ve submitted short stories to competitions/journals, and then started to pitch books to a range of agents/publishers, met with them face to face, made it to publication then changed course so had to go back out on submission; had zoom pitches, a chat with an editor when I made the final seven in a big competition. I’ve faced numerous rejections, been ghosted, and most recently delved into independent publishing. I’ve attended writing festivals/workshops/talks/retreats, absorbed advice from top authors, agents, publishers and other writers of all levels of experience.

After my first book was released I started to deliver creative writing workshops and talks in schools, libraries, community venues, small book festivals, rooms to an audience of three… Adjudicated competitions for writing groups, bigger conferences (and even adapted my workshop to an online version during an unexpected lockdown!). I’ve organised in-person and online book launches, written press releases, been interviewed for a magazine and over the phone by a journalist.

I’ve kept my creative momentum going by setting myself numerous silly and engaging creative challenges over the years, which is good to remind myself about, as often when writing starts to feel too serious/stressful it’s good to take some time out to remember how to be creative. I know a massive challenge of any creative is staying motivated.

That was a bit of a brain dump list but introduces some themes I hope to focus on.

I remember reading once that writing should be treated like an apprenticeship; that it’s a journey of learning. I started my ‘apprenticeship’ way back in primary school and I am still very much learning. Every new writing project I start, I want to be better.

This year I hope to start a new type of writing project, and plan to go back out on submission again to try to secure an agent, which I am sure will bring a whole lot of new experiences and learning.

You can get all of my posts into your email inbox if you subscribe (on my homepage).

I plan to give honest insights into the behind the scenes of what a writing life for me has looked like so far (and new experiences going forward), with links to any interesting groups or writing related sites/comps I come across.

The first post will be going live next week.

Wishing you lots of success in your own writing this year, and just a reminder it’s okay not to feel dynamic in January. If you are still Wintering, take that time to relax and recharge!

Self-Care

Posted on by vgemmell
Pixabay image by TerriC

The prompt I have chosen today is ‘Explain what self-care means to me.’

So here is what Self-care looks like to me these days:

Early nights/lazy mornings wrapped in a warm duvet and a cuddle

Evenings watching trash TV in my PJs

Wind-down showers or baths before bed

Walking and enjoying the scenery and quiet of my surroundings

Saying no and then saying no again if you didn’t hear me loud enough the first time

Questioning things that don’t make sense to me

Knowing my worth

Trying to find the humour in stressful situations

Eating out with people I love, enjoying the food and the company

Walking away from toxic environments/people who drain the life out of me

Spending time with people who inspire and energise me and make me laugh

Remembering to set aside time to be creative

Remembering to set aside time to read

Taking some moments to sit in silence alone

Going on trips to places I love

Drinking Hot chocolate

Browsing a shop that is aesthetically pleasing

Re-framing Rejection

Posted on by vgemmell
Mysticartdesign Image – Pixabay

Recently I re-read Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ and for me, it still stands out as one of the best books focusing on ‘the craft’. The memoir conversational style of writing throughout creates a very honest and accessible account of King’s journey to becoming a best-selling author, with the technical advice neatly threaded into the narrative in a way that makes you think this guy clearly knows what he’s talking about, as you can read he’s a natural storyteller within the pages of this book.

Things that struck me this time around when I was reading was the fearlessness and tenacity King showed as a young writer when he would study the stories in numerous short story publications, then submit, submit, submit. If he got a rejection (and there were many as he started out), he simply kept going, often re-working and quickly re-submitting elsewhere, all the time consciously developing his craft. He did what we should all do really – don’t dwell on the ‘no’, just strive to get better and to find your story a home where it fits. (Keep reading on and I’ll share a challenge which might help with this)

Ironically the one time King nearly gave up on a piece of writing was with Carrie, his debut novel that launched his career. When he started to write Carrie, it was as a short story, and he felt it just wasn’t working. I love the way King threads in stories about his wife Tabitha, often reminiscing about how she has supported him at key moments throughout his career. Nothing better illustrates this than when Tabitha retrieves the crumpled pages of Carrie out of the bin and tells King to keep going because she wants to see how the story ends. King reflects on what his experience with Carrie taught him and I’ll quote an abridged version here;

Don’t stop a piece of work because it’s hard (emotionally or imaginatively). Keep going even when you don’t feel like it, and ‘sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is shoveling shit from a sitting position.’ pg.82

Another section which stood out to me was when King described ‘the first time in (his) life, (when) writing was hard’. This was when he was working as a teacher, and even although he acknowledged the good parts – loving the kids and co-workers – he described ending the week feeling like he had ‘jumper cables clamped to (his) brain.’ (pg. 76) and it was the one time he, ..’came close to despairing about (his) future as a writer.’ I’ve included this in this post as it’s something, even with dropping a day at work, that really resonates with me. With a caseload of close to one hundred young people (doing indepth one to one work), and I’m now in an education setting one day a week, I understand the ‘jumper cables clamped to my brain’ description very well. It takes a lot to decompress, and stay creative.

Staying motivated to write when you have a lot of other things competing with your time is difficult. Especially if you don’t always see much reward.

So, something else I read lately which caught my attention, and actually gave me a spark of motivation, was an article about setting yourself Rejection Goals. You can read ‘Why You should aim to get 100 Rejections a Year’ here (The author of the article Kim Liao actually references King’s On Writing and the way he collected his initial rejections, nailing them to the wall, like a badge of honour).

The idea behind the 100 rejections goal is the more you submit, the more acceptances you are likely to get, and it quietens ‘your fragile ego.’ The perfectionist in me, never mind my fragile creative ego, thinks the psychology of this one is quite clever – if I can trick my brain into thinking my aim is to reach 100 rejections, I’m going to let go of any nagging doubts that I’m not good enough, and to let go of any disappointments of ‘set-backs’ because that simply is no longer the objective of my task.

So if you’re reading this and it seems like a great new challenge to embark upon, why don’t you join me?

We can sail into 2023 with the aim of racking up a lot of ‘nos’, or in the case of modern publishing, a big empty silence of never hearing back …

Good luck!