“I have a good life but I must write because if I do not write a certain amount I do not enjoy the rest of my life.” —Ernest Hemingway
This pretty much describes my approach to writing. As a child I loved reading and I carried that love of reading into adulthood, reading widely and insatiably from many genres, both fiction and non-fiction. Some of my favourite writers include Annie Proulx, Tove Jansson, Emile Zola, Amy Tan, Simone de Beauvoir and Ernest Hemingway. I began writing creatively as a child and continued to write stories throughout adolescence and into adulthood.
There were times in my life when I tried not to write, to focus on other activities instead. But somehow I kept returning to writing.
A few years ago I decided to take my writing seriously, and enrolled on an introductory creative writing course with writingclasses.co.uk. From there I went on to take several more courses, both with writingclasses and at CityLit in Central London. I learned a lot about the craft of writing and how to approach it. During this time I completed a number of short stories and went on to write a novel (soon to be published with Pilrig Press, which you can read all about here: link coming soon!). It was the experience of drafting my novel that confirmed the importance of writing to my life.
So, now what? Since September I’ve been a student of the Creative Writing MLitt at Glasgow University. As part of my portfolio I’m working on a new novel as well as short stories. I’ve met some fantastic writers along the way—both published and unpublished—whose work I look forward to reading in the future.
This blog is all about my writing journey.
Kendra Olson 