An August Blog Event - Leicester Writers
I don’t make my living from writing, and
presently have nothing to sell. I put words on paper, I’m writing a novel, and
who knows one day I might even finish it! I pen short pieces, and enter writing
competitions, and sometimes if I’m lucky, I’m successful, and I win. One of my
stories was made into a short film, and I’ve had articles accepted in magazines
too.
I’m on Twitter, and along with another
writer we started #writingchat on Wednesday evenings, where writers drop in and
join the discussion on a topic of interest for an hour.
If you visit Leicester, you’ll maybe catch
me scribbling in Costa Coffee by the clock tower, or Curve Café in the cultural
quarter. I do write about the city, I use many locations in my writing, and
yes, I people watch, and have been known to find my characters amongst the
locals.
Why do I write? It’s not that I don’t value
my work. Of course it’s lovely to receive payment for my words. I could give
you lots of answers to that question. I write to escape, to go wherever I
desire, or I write because I want to go on the journey.
Mostly though, I write because it’s fun!
Maria Smith blogs at First Draft Cafe
My next and final Leicester Writer Visitor will be Siobhan Logan
I want to hang out at a café and write with Maria Smith. I like her attitude - no pressure. She's having fun. And with that no doubt, she can take her time and really explore the world with words. Very nice
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanne, feel free to drop by the cafe anytime...
DeleteHi Rosalind and Maria. I tend to write blurbs and synopses in cafes, but I've never written fiction in one. I think I would get too distracted in my local favourite cafe (a bookshop) because people like to talk in my town :-)
ReplyDeleteIt was a little bit like that when I started out doing it Annalisa, but after a while you really don't notice it anymore. I think I have trained myself to ignore the background noise unless I want to tune into it of course. The hardest bit is when you want another coffee, and don't want to leave off from your writing...
DeleteWhat a great friend you have here, Ros - anyone who writes for fun is surely starting in the best possible place.
ReplyDeleteI like a good challenge as well JO, always up for having a go, and joining in...and you never know where it'll lead either. In the past I've helped people out with readings etc and ended up assisting with writing workshops, or acting out scenes for playwrights. Writing can be a lonely business, and although I mostly don't mind my own company, I do like a good get together with other creatives.
DeleteWriting for the love of it is actually what makes writing fun, isn't it? One of the drawbacks of being published is the obligation to work hard for sales. For me, it takes some of the fun of writing away although I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity. Maria sounds as if she's got it just right!
ReplyDeleteHi Vallypee, I take my hat off to those selling their work, that's my day job, so I can completely identify with how difficult it is to make sales. Keep pushing forward, you have much to be proud of...
DeleteHi Maria, what a surprise to find you here. You also write a very good blog and I'm constantly amazed at how organised you are. I think whether you write books that are published or whether you write short stories or blogs we all write becuase we just couldn't live without putting what is in our head down on paper.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anne, I do enjoy blogging, although sometimes I don't think I'm giving my followers value! I'm currently brainstorming ideas to try and do something a little different now and again. You are also quite right...how would we live, without our love for the craft?
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