• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chandler's Ford Today

  • Home
  • About
    • About Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research
  • Blog
    • Blogging Tips
  • Event
    • Upcoming Events
  • Community
    • Groups
    • Churches
    • Schools
    • GP Surgeries
    • Leisure
    • Library
    • Charities
      • Eastleigh Basics Bank
      • Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler’s Ford
    • Fair Trade
      • Traidcraft stalls in Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford Parish Council
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Site Policies
  • Site Archive
    • Site Archive 2018
    • Site Archive 2017
    • Site Archive 2016
    • Site Archive 2015
You are here: Home / Community / Lessons – Part 2 – Lessons Learned from the Writing Life

Lessons – Part 2 – Lessons Learned from the Writing Life

September 11, 2020 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

I talked about lessons from school, learning to drive etc., last week. This week I’m going to look at what I have learned from writing and how that has developed life skills too.

A lovely place in which to learn and the natural habitat of the writer! Pixabay

Becoming More Sociable!

Being a writer has led me to go to writing conferences such as the ones at Winchester and Swanwick and you end up chatting to fellow delegates about their work. They quiz you about yours. This means I’ve learned to describe my work in a way that makes sense to others (and is a useful skill to have as it will help with pitching to a publisher or agent if you have one-to-one sessions at said conferences. Even if you don’t do that, practicing your pitch is still useful as you can write it down for when you send your MSS in by email to someone).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You also develop more social skills doing all of this. I was a friendly enough soul before becoming a writer but the writing side of my life has led to that developing much further than it might have done without the writing. That’s partly because I am going to events associated with writing. I am also meeting far more people than I might otherwise have done.

Every writer has to engage with social media too and the art of that is to focus on what you enjoy here and can manage. For me, that’s Facebook and Twitter. And the art of social media management is to BE sociable. It’s not all about “buy my book”. You learn to think of ways of talking about what you do without sending a prospective audience off to sleep! If you can give “value” with your posts (and advice and tips are always “value”), then you are engaging with potential future readers in a positive way.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

There is a lot of truth in the saying “what goes around comes around”. It has been my experience that in being willing to help other writers (via such things as sharing their posts on social media), they in turn will help you. It should be a positive, virtual circle here.

And, of course, you are busy making writer friends. They can tell you things about the industry you didn’t know. In time, you can share your experiences with those new to the business. And there’s nobody like a fellow writer to understand what it feels like when work gets rejected again or when you’re over the moon because you’ve had an acceptance. It’s also lovely having writing buddies to share those joys with.

I’ve found the writing world to be very supportive and it’s lovely to give back to this creative universe. Pixabay

Getting Out of The Comfort Zone

I’ve done this on a number of occasions and I know I’ll do it several times in the future. It is a good thing. You are stretching yourself as a writer. You can only know whether you can do something if you give it a go – and that was how I got into flash fiction writing and that in turn has led to my having a collection published, with another soon to come out via Chapeltown Books.

I hadn’t done radio interviews or been a guest on a podcast prior to this year. Yes, I was nervous about both, but also knew both would be thundering good experiences for me which would stand me in good stead for later on. Right on both counts there.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Every writer has missed out on book events this year so all of us have had to adapt to Zoom and the like.

And I didn’t start out writing non-fiction posts like this one. It was Richard Hardie who told me about Chandler’s Ford Today and suggested I send a piece in. I did, Janet liked it, and the rest is history. Being willing to try things that are different from what you usually do is good. You find out what you like, what you don’t, and, if fortunate, you end up having more than one string to your bow.

I never anticipated taking part in Open Prose Mic Nights either, reading to people I don’t know, or of being a guest speaker for the Hampshire Writers’ Society. That was great fun to do. You learn to prepare for events like that with plenty of practice, practice, practice, reading work/speech out loud to get it right for the day.

Libraries have always held a great attraction for me and I spent a lot of time in my school one. Pixabay

Facing Up to Being Turned Down

The writing life is full of ups and downs for all writers. With time, you accept that and get used to the setbacks. You also get more enjoyment from the acceptances and other successes precisely because you know it’s not like that all of the time. You also toughen up when dealing with rejections. When I was a novice writer, any rejection would throw me. Now I know it happens, it never is anything personal, I’ve got a better understanding of just how busy editors and publishers can be, and I see a rejected story as a chance to rework it and resubmit it. I’ve done that a few times and had work accepted which had previously been turned down.

You get used to stories not doing anything in a competition so you look at the story again, see if you can improve it, and, if so, send it out to a suitable market/competition. You also get used to the idea of not just writing one thing and pinning all of your hopes on that. You write lots and send your work out and hope they find suitable homes.

Many lessons have had to take place online this year. Pixabay

Learning Not To Be Precious About Your Work

This is vital for writers to learn and the sooner you can do this, the better. All writing can be improved. There is no such thing as a perfect piece of work. What you can do is improve with practice and by picking up useful tips along the way. I can look back at work I wrote five years ago and understand why I wrote those pieces the way I did then. That was the stage of writing development I was at then. I can also see how I’d write those pieces now. It is important not to be blind to faults in your own writing. Every writer needs an editor to cast a crucial independent eye on their work. You are too close to your own work to always see the flaws.

It helps enormously to know criticism of work is not criticism of the writer. It is never personal. Editors are looking to get your work to the best that it can be. That in turn increases the likelihood of work being accepted. Given there are no certainties in the publishing world, doing what you have to do to improve your chances of acceptance must be a good thing.

Refusing to change a word of your precious MSS is rarely a good idea.

One of the major challenges in writing is ensuring you give the right level of time to it and only you can decide what that should be. Pixabay

Having Your Eyes Opened to Opportunities

It is a big world out there. It is a big publishing world too and there are more options available to writers now than there was when I started. Print on Demand has made self-publishing viable, as has the development of ebooks. This is why networking with other writers is invaluable. No one writer can know all that is out there and you never know when a snippet of information from someone else will prove invaluable for you.

(It is also lovely when it works the other way around and something you’ve said helps someone else. It is good to “pay it forward and backwards”, so to speak. You never know when you might be the beneficiary of that and it’s my experience again that all of the writers I know and I have a strong sense of wanting to contribute positively and to give something back. Well, nobody likes those who pull the ladder up after them, do they?).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Never Being Afraid of Editing Ever Again!

I learned this one quickly when I saw what a good edit could do to improve my stories and make them more saleable. With time, I’ve accepted the first draft is precisely that. Get the story down and then get rid of what you really don’t need. (See what I did there!).

Lessons then are nothing to fear but it is a good idea to make them as palatable as possible!

So, again, over to you. What lessons have you learned which have gone beyond the scope of where you first learned them?

Which school lessons were your favourites? Which have carried over best into adult life? Pixabay

Related Posts:-

The Highs and Lows of the Writing Life

Tried and Tested Writing Tips

Writing Tips

The Benefits of a Good Writing Conference

Online Writing

The Frustrations of Publishing

Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.

Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.

Never miss out on another blog post. Subscribe here:

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email

Related posts:

Small World Syndrome – Introducing Helen Matthews – Part 1
Tags: comfort zone, editing, learning not to be precious, opportunities, rejections, social media, the writing life

About Allison Symes

I'm a published flash fiction and short story writer, as well as a blogger. My fiction work has appeared in anthologies from Cafelit and Bridge House Publishing.

My first flash fiction collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again, was published by Chapeltown Books in 2017.

My follow-up, Tripping the Flash Fantastic, was published by Chapeltown Books in 2020.

I adore the works of many authors but my favourites are Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett.

I like to describe my fiction as fairytales with bite.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Helen Hodgkinson says

    September 12, 2020 at 6:11 pm

    Hi Allison,
    Hope you and lady are ok? Following our conversation some time ago, I’m a member the Twyford W I and we were wondering if you would be prepared to give a talk via a zoom meeting about your writing life on ? October 21st? It would be a Wednesday evening about 8.10pm for approximately 30 – 45 minutes and maybe questions afterwards.

    Reply
  2. Allison Symes says

    September 13, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    Hello, Helen! Lady and I are fine. Trust Gertie is well too. I have sent a quick email to you about the above and will, once I’ve caught up with post-holiday things (!)., email again with more details. But yes, I am generally all for this! Would be really useful to know if you have seen my email.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Chandler's Ford Today blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Top Posts & Pages

999, 111, 101, 112? Emergency Numbers You Must Know
Home
July Gardening Tips by Wellie
101 Things to Put into Room 101
St George's Day Glide
First Aider and First Responder
101 Things to Put into Room 101 - Part 7 - The Final Leg
Chandlers Ford u3a - New Website Launched
Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler's Ford
A walk in a park

Categories

Tags

arts and crafts books Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford Today Chandler’s Ford community charity Christianity Christmas church community creative writing culture Eastleigh Eastleigh Borough Council education entertainment event family fundraising gardening gardening tips good neighbours Hiltingbury Hiltingbury Road history hobby how-to interview Joan Adamson Joan Adelaide Goater local businesses local interest memory Methodist Church music nature news reading review social storytelling theatre travel Winchester Road writing

Recent Comments

  • Christine Lassam on July Gardening Tips by Wellie
  • Allison Symes on St George’s Day Glide
  • Gopi on St George’s Day Glide
  • Marny on St George’s Day Glide
  • Allison Symes on Verbs and Verbosity in Fiction
  • Mike Sedgwick on Verbs and Verbosity in Fiction

Regular Writers and Contributors

Janet Williams Allison Symes Mike Sedgwick Rick Goater Doug Clews chippy minton Martin Napier Roger White Andy Vining Gopi Chandroth Nicola Slade Wellie Roger Clark Ray Fishman Hazel Bateman SO53 News

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

Reviews of local performances and places

Reviews of local performances and places

Copyright © 2022 Chandler's Ford Today. WordPress. Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.