Well, it’s been a while since my last post. Best laid plans, and all!
As mentioned previously, in November 2023 I was unemployed. I was grateful to be offered work as a teacher for Term 1 of last year and then again in Term 2. About this time last year I had just applied for a permanent teaching position at the same school. Then on my birthday, last August, I was offered a position commencing this year. It has been a refreshing change after the conclusion of my previous employment.
During this time I have also been studying to complete my teacher-librarian qualifications, though I am not sure what I will ultimately do with this. When I first started the course, I planned to work as a teacher-librarian, but now I don’t know. As I have been studying and settling into a new school, creative writing has been hard to access. Academic writing is very different (at least I think it is), and writing content for history and science lessons for six-year-olds is a different type of writing, again. Throw in some professional writing in the form of school reports, and my brain just can’t seem to cope with then doing some creative writing.
However, I have been making the rounds at author talks and literary festivals. In the last year, I have heard Michael Robotham, Sophie Green, Dervla McTiernan, Joanna Nell, Sue Williams, Karen Viggers, Andra Putnis, and Chris Hammer. Additionally, I have purchased their books, exponentially growing my pile of books to read. I counted them this morning and there are 50 – this does not include the ones at the post office awaiting collection, or Christian living and school-related books I’d like to read.
Over the weekend, just gone I attended the South Coast Readers and Writers Festival at Thirroul Library where I was, yet again, compelled to buy books despite deciding I WOULD NOT be purchasing any books. Adding insult to injury, I am now inspired to read some fantasy books which I have never had any interest in doing.
I was also inspired by Amie McNee’s book, We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something, which I heard about on one of the many podcasts I now spend time listening to, Dear Rach and Soph. Aime’s book highlights the fact we all need to be creative.
All of these things do not, however, make me a writer. So, when people ask me about my writing I find it hard to say I am a writer. Making chit-chat at a writers’ festival about my writing is challenging when I am not really writing anything.
Next week, I am off to my first Writing Retreat and am looking forward to having nothing to do but think about my writing and spend time writing. I had planned this coming Saturday to commence an online writing course. Unfortunately, due to low numbers that course is not running anymore, but there are several course from the Australian Writers’ Centre I have yet to complete; I plan to dedicate time each weekend to doing these. I am going to start right after I’ve finished this post.
When I was informed the online course had been cancelled I was send a copy of the coach’s text, The Creative Writer’s Toolkit which has a chapter entitled, Imposter Syndrome. I think I have that and not actually writing anything is no antidote.
Trish Lewis 