The WordCraft Substack begins - just as the year is ending

Why Winter is a good time for words

It’s the Beginning! At the end…

Hello Readers, Writers, and Story-Lovers: welcome to the first WordCraft newsletter on Substack!

Why begin this new venture now, you may wonder, at the very end of the year? Let me tell you a story…

It’s been an extraordinary year for me, returning to both my creative writing and teaching careers after a long diversion down other paths. When my health began to fail me 10 years ago I had to give up first my teaching - something I’ve always found so rewarding - and eventually the love of my life, my writing, as well. Even reading became difficult and one day I realised I hadn’t read a novel for over two years…

This time last year, my Dad became critically ill. He was the person who taught me to read by recording my favourite bedtime stories on a cassette player so that I could listen and follow along with the book - a real innovation in the early 1970s! He was a gifted story-teller with a passion for literature and especially science fiction, although his own writing career had focussed on research and non-fiction. Through him I discovered my love of books and stories, my delight in language and words. In his final days I sat at his bedside and read him his favourite sci-fi story, ‘Pawley’s Peepholes’ by John Wyndham. Thanks to Dad I’d read Wyndham avidly as a girl (both my parents had a very progressive attitude about what was suitable reading material for adolescants!) but had soon developed my own tastes and moved on. It was a revelation to return to this early influence, more than 40 years on, and see so clearly where my own Everyday-British-Kitchen-Sink approach to fantastic fiction had its roots.

It was a long, cold, sad winter for me. At the same time though, I finally began to find my mojo again. I went back and re-read some of the other books I had loved in my teens and to my surprise I found synapses sparking in my brain that had lain dormant for a decade! I pulled out my old notebooks and rediscovered long-abandoned ideas that weren’t half bad, that got me excited about playing with words and creating stories once again. All that magic I thought I’d lost came back to me last winter.

I was invited to run a couple of creative writing sessions, even though I didn’t know whether I still had the capacity for teaching. I can’t tell you how inspiring it was to be back in front of a group of talented, imaginative people and feel the sparks of imagination that lit up the room as they began to create their stories! I remembered that when people enjoy playing with words, all they need is a playground.

Winter is a good time for Words

Eleven months on and here is winter again; I am editing a short story anthology, writing a new novel, putting together a creative writing workbook. I’ve just finished writing and teaching my first six-week creative writing course and I’m already signing people up to the next one! I am so thrilled to be back doing the work I love and to be part of a community of readers, writers, and story-lovers once more.

Winter might feel like the ‘End’ of the year, but for me the Winter Solstice is a Beginning; the rebirth of the Sun, the days starting to lengthen again. So I am starting this Substack now because I have so much I want to share!

Whether you’re a reader or a writer or both I’d love to let you know what I’ve been working on; great books I’ve discovered; writing exercises and materials I’ve created or found useful that might help you along your writing journey, too. And I would love to hear your thoughts and comments here as well, to have discussions and share resources.

Now and Next

I won’t always be this wordy, I promise! You can expect one or two newsletters a month from me, one of which will mainly be news on forthcoming books, courses, workshops, and the like (and the occasional special subscriber offers!) and one that will feature some of my latest work. It might be some short fiction, a creative writing exercise, an excerpt from a work-in-progress, or perhaps just some thoughts on the Writerly Life.

I do hope you enjoy them and choose to come along with me on this journey.

Wishing you a very happy winter,

Sarah

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