I am a Writer

You may have guessed from yesterday's post that I am back in the blogging world. This is because at long last I have finished the first draft of my novel The Changing Room, a rip roaring comedy which completely ignores all publishing conventions, has some outrageous scenarios in it and will never be nominated for any literature prize except a booby one. It may make you laugh though and, possibly, even make you cry. (Maybe not for the right reasons - but at least it will be a reaction - what more can an author ask for!)

So what's next? Well, I am putting it away for a while so that when I edit it I will see it with fresh "readers" eyes - and if I still laugh and cry as I did when I wrote it then it won't require too much editing. If I read it and don't laugh and cry then I might wade out to sea with a ball and chain strapped to my ankle. Alternatively, if I'm feeling in a robust mood I'll just eat a large bar of chocolate and watch a George Clooney movie. In the meantime, I'm going to work on short stories, articles, catch up on my reading and do my research for potential agents who might under the influence of drugs/alcohol/blackmail be receptive to something a little different. If I'm unsuccessful in finding an agent I will look to self publish before the end of the year. To this extent I am already looking into artwork for a domain which has the original title of The Changing Room. 

So I think it's been roughly six years since I first started dabbling with writing. I started out writing a literary thriller and now I've ended up with a comedy drama which has has strong elements of farce and slapstick.  It's been an odd journey and it's certainly been a challenging one. At times, I would say it's even been a journey of self discovery - maybe that's reflected in what I've finally written - a book about a woman's changing role in life. Keeping up the momentum to get to the end of The Changing Room when I have an active family and numerous distractions has been difficult at times but I've finally got there. I can finally say I've done it. I wish my Mum and Dad were still alive so I could share this personal achievement but sadly they aren't but I think they'd pretty pleased if they were alive. I think Mum would love The Changing Room although my Dad would probably say to himself "Where did I go wrong?" and then strap a ball and chain to his ankle and wade out to sea.

You know, I wonder if this is point when I can truly say I am a writer.