This is apprentice page

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Unless we practice our skills regularly they disappear. We may all have roller-skated or ridden bikes as kids, but got back to it 30 years later and you are back to square one.

Writing is the same. Some of us have had jobs that demanded we write for whatever reason – letters (remember them), proposals, contracts… – and the core skills remain. However, it’s highly unlikely that anyone has asked us to write anything creative since the day we left school.

So, whether you are totally confident in your grammar and use of English or have forgotten it all, when we start writing creatively we are all in the same situation. ‘Where do I begin?’

I cheated. I read short stories in the press and realised that there was a formula. I copied the formula. I wrote the typically cliched stories that appeared in women’s magazines. I didn’t do it for long. I saw no satisfaction in churning out that sort of material, though there is still a steady market for romantic fiction.

Most people though start with a different premise. ‘I could do that. I want to do it.’ Being creative is a natural human process. We labour in our gardens and over our property to create the place we will call home. We make music, we paint pictures, we knit, we sew, we craft and play with wood and metal because there is something inside that screams we must create.

Creative writing is something different. You need to do it for yourself. Effortlessly, someone will look at a painting or hear a piece of music and say ‘I love that’. The payback for those artists is instant. As a writer you are asking someone to invest time, sometimes many hours, to engage and respond with your work. It’s not easy to find such an audience and much of what you write many never find an audience, which is why you need to go into this knowing that you are doing it for your own satisfaction.

Some of you will find a route to a new career in writing in some form, but for most of us (yes, I include myself) some things we write are unlikely to ever be read by anyone else, let alone appreciated. But if you did it and you like it, that’s all that matters, bigger ambitions can come later.

We’re going back to square one and in small steps will progress to writing 500 word stories to order for friends and relatives.

We will not examine plot or characters in any detail. Our objective is to give you the skill and confidence to sit down with a pen and paper (or keyboard) and rattle off writing that is creative.

????????????There are 30 lessons and without a huge commitment in time you could work through them in 30 days. If you manage that and have the confidence to show your skilfully crafted pieces to all and sundry, then our job is done.

Many people, however, will want to linger and play, amazed at what they can achieve and how they have unlocked creative corners of their brain that they never knew existed. More important is the fact that these ideas can find expression.

The journey begins. You’ll find various resources ready to download (besides the bumper starter pack) and various examples to show what you achieve in a few words. Enjoy.