If you’re here because you searched for me after reading In Woodsmore Village in Scotsman Magazine this weekend: thank you! Thank you for reading and thank you for taking the time to find out more about me. This is my blog. Here, I write about writing, and track the progress of my first novel.
Edinburgh’s a great place to write: it’s got an active and supportive writing community. It also has the Book Festival and it was at the Festival, year before last, that I decided to take writing seriously. That meant writing and sharing what I’d written. Hansel & Gretel, and Me is the first competition I’ve entered and I am over the moon to have won. I didn’t expect to. I didn’t really expect to be on the shortlist.
In my day job, I’m a technical writer and copywriter. (Basically, I write manuals and websites for software companies.) That’s a very different thing from writing fiction. Interesting in its way but necessarily more restrictive. The very freedom of fiction, the fact that you can go anywhere you want, is daunting. It is also what makes it such fun to write – and to read.
If you want to read more of my writing, have a look at the Read me page. It’s got links to the few pieces I’ve got on this site, as well as details of my published pieces.
Thank you again for stopping by.
Hello Caroline – have just read your winning story as we had been talking about it in our writing group (in Comrie, Perthshire). It is an amzing piece. Being married to a traditional woodland person and having come across amazing things you can do with birch bark before, it sang to me in a number of ways. I also used to write stuff as part of my living and want to free myself up to write more creatively, so it’s very refreshhing seeing your goals. Good luck with it all 🙂
Hello Isobel! Thank you very much for your kind words. I’m a little stunned that there’s been a group talking about my story. Exciting!
So glad you liked the birch bark detail. To me, the fairy tale landscape looks something like the landscape where I spent my summers as a child and I borrowed the bark craft from there. My uncle used to have one of those packs. I remember the feel of it, and the way the flap creaked a little when you opened it.
Good luck with your own creative writing! It’s hard work but it’s also very liberating. 🙂
Hi Caroline, thank you. I’m going to follow your example of having a plan for pushing my writing out into the world 🙂
Since our writing group all enjoyed your story so much, we’re having a full discussion about it next time we meet – what we like and why etc!