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I haven’t blooged for a while. Nor Blogged, for that matter (don’t you just love a funny typo?).

I’ve been extremely busy. I have several personal writing projects on the go (yes, including my first small venture into self-publishing) which never seem to progress as quickly as I would like. I bet you know the drill.

There’s always something getting in the way, isn't there? in my case, a script writing course, sick kids, demanding husband, and let’s not talk about yet another wild animal tale come to pass chez nous that took up an extra three days out of my schedule and knocked me off my deadline. That’s for another post, for another day. In fact, I’m thinking about making all my silly and outrageous animal escapades into a book.

Does this kind of chaos sound in anyway familiar to you? Do you find that no matter how hard you try to set some time aside to write, some bugger keeps standing in front of you with a wall sized sheet of glass, stopping you from moving forward? You know, like one of those scenes where the men are carrying the glass across the road and some bumbling idiot comes bowling down the street and breaks it? Only, my metaphorical sheet of glass appears to be shatterproof.

That’s how it feels to me.

And aside from making the time, when you're still feeling your way with your fiction, and you do sit down to write, you realise just how much there still is to learn, that the rest of the iceberg goes deep, deep down into depths you fell you have no hope of seeing from your viewpoint. It seems flimsy, flat, it doesn’t do what it said on the tin. When you are first starting out, it’s just bloomin’ infuriating, and there never seems anyone who will really tell you if your writing sinks or swims. In fact, it can seem that way for a very long time.

Well let me tell you something: what it says on the tin is written in Thai, or might as well be. Which is okay if you can read Thai. For the majority of you reading this who can’t, you just have to work it out for yourself, or hope someone will put you on the right track so you can fathom just what the hell is going on.

I spent years doing that - working it out. Ten years, in fact. Absorbing every morsel of information I could about writing fiction, ten years of critiquing stories, novels, developing my analytical and editorial skills, as well as honing my own writing techniques. And I got pretty good at it.

Writers need to invest in themselves, in their craft, their art, if they want to succeed, no matter how hard it may seem. Be it their time, be it a how-to book, be it a weekend away on a writing workshop. And it’s good for the moral to connect with others who are doing the same, or people who can help guide them.

I did it, even when I didn’t like what they had to say about my early attempts at writing. I did it and it helped me develop exponentially.

So, recently I stumbled across a competition on Wattpad. They were asking for writers to create online classes on how to create compelling short stories. Well, anyone who knows me around these parts knows how much I like to talk about fiction and break it up to study its inner mechanics, so I jumped at the chance. But It’s also about putting in to the writing community. I have really important, quality insights to share!

Designing the class was a lot more complicated than I first anticipated, for the purpose of teaching. The more experienced writers out there will know just how difficult it is to talk about one element of writing without then leading into another, more complex one, which is why it’s so difficult to explain it to newbies. There’s always the danger of overwhelming them. And the purpose is that the lessons are presented in bite-sized chunks that are easy to digest. Oof, the challenge! But hey, I love a challenge.

So, after several drafts of lesson outlines, script and exercises, I finally settled on a version that I felt communicated the basics to beginners, while also initiating some new ideas and techniques to those who have a little more experience. Then I had to learn how to use Powerpoint and turn my slides into videos. Oh dear… All I will say on that level is that there is a reason I’m a writer and not a news reader or actress! I did not like talking into the mic at all, but I did it. I did it because I know how important it is to challenge yourself as a writer, else you’ll never have the courage it requires to put yourself out there (even if that is just on one page for your grandmother to read).

Well, I didn’t make the Wattpad competition deadline, not with having to learn so much new stuff and finding out about the comp a little too close to the closing date. However, I did create the class and publish it. And I really enjoyed the process. And the two great things about this class, and the website it’s hosted on, is that a) it’s inexpensive to join and b) it doesn’t end there; members have access to 3,500 classes! Not just in writing, but a whole spectrum of creative pastimes or moneymaking skills.

And I now have a solid idea of future classes I am going to develop and publish.

But let’s not skip off ahead too far and just deal with the one that exists right now. Here’s a little taster:

Overview:

For those who are just starting out or those who want to create more balanced short stories with structure and purpose. This class explores the interplay between description, character and emotion through simple exercises and techniques.

- Simple structuring from the beginning

- Effective description

- Conjure up character through household objects

- Emotional plotting through transformation

- Classic plotting through goal and obstacle

- Basic structural and copy editing.

So, if you want to jumpstart your desire of being a writer and rise out of the quagmire of confusion, no need to flounder any longer. Come join my class! I promise you’ll be inspired, and you’ll be challenged, but most importantly, I promise you’ll have fun. I’m here to help, and together, hopefully, we’ll unlock a side of you, you never knew existed.

So, if you want to check out the full class, it's available for free via this blog - just click on the link to the top (ish) right of the page and subscribe! You will be sent a free link for the course. And if you like it, tell your friends!