Hi there everyone,
Here's something different this week!
I managed to persuade Iona Inkwell, to share her ideas on The Aspiring Writer with us.
Over to you, Iona.
Here I am, feeling like a fraud after agreeing (under duress and under a pseudonym) to write about The Aspiring Writer.
Very few people know that I have been dabbling in writing for quite a few years now. I completed a short story for a competition three years ago, though I never submitted it. The deadline came and went before I was happy with the final version. In fact, even now, if I read through it, I find myself giving it a tweak here and there.
I have also five incomplete short stories – three of which were a series on the same topic; two incomplete novellas and notes on several novels that I have yet to begin.
At the moment, I am working on my first full length novel. I have high hopes for this one! I aim to complete it during the lockdown period.
So, does this make me a writer? I think of myself as an Aspiring Writer.
When can a person say that they are a writer? Do you have to have a completed novel, or short story, or magazine or newspaper article? Does it have to be published? Does it count if it’s self-published, or by a Vanity publisher?
Once it is published, does it have to have at least one review or a certain number of reviews? Or be in the top one hundred or even one million (There are a lot of books out there these days!)?
Does your story have to follow all the rules of grammar and punctuation? I was going to say that correct spelling is essential although an imaginative writer who struggles with spelling can easily use a spell checker or ask someone to sort that out for them. It also occurred to me that many writers, especially fantasy writers will make up new words that don’t follow spelling rules; and of course, new words are being coined all the time – so is spelling an issue?
Is there a correct answer to any of the above questions?
I recently had a great idea for those wanting to write a best seller! This book will include sixty thousand words, chosen at random. There will also be a page giving internet links to several websites that list male and female names from different countries around the world. Would-be-best-sellers just have to organise the words into a thrilling story.
I’ll call it ‘The IKEA Book.’
Trish: What a great idea, Iona! Thank you for talking to us today.
And you’ve really made me think; how do you a define a writer…?
Any ideas, anyone?