An Aspiring Writer

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 person to sort that out. 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…