Hello again everyone, and thanks for being here. I do enjoy writing these tips, and they help me, too! Before I was a publisher I was a writer, and I still like to keep my hand in, so all the things I write here I try to put into practice myself. 🙂
The first thing I ever wrote (apart from school work) were letters. As children we were obliged to write thank you letters to relatives who sent us birthday and Christmas presents – then when I was eighteen I moved to Belgium for a year to work with the Belgian Evangelical Mission, so letter writing took on a whole new meaning. All the new sights, sounds and experiences found their way into letters back home.
Move forward several years, to when my youngest started school . . . I began writing articles for the Girl Guides and Brownies magazines, then moved on to Christian magazines and newspapers, and even tried my hand at some copywriting. Interviews, features, craft articles, devotionals and even recipes – I did them all! Each was a kind of stepping stone to the next thing.
Cut forward another decade or so, and, seeing the need for fun Christian stories for kids, I started to write some. Then I set up Dernier Publishing, with the aim of producing books to encourage and inspire young people in their faith, and to show non-church kids what they are missing!
Now I’m so busy publishing other authors’ stories, I don’t have much time to write, but I have noticed this: sometimes we have to go through several steps to reach the place we really want to be.
If writing a whole novel seems a bit daunting, don’t worry, have a go at writing articles for your church magazine, a short story for a competition, or a journal to express your deepest thoughts. All these are good in themselves, and just might be stepping stones to something else. (I’ve enjoyed all these at different times!)
Janet Wilson
Has your writing evolved over the years? Have you got a story to share with us, to encourage others? Love to hear from you!
Every blessing to you all, whatever you are writing at the moment,
Janet
