Streamwriting

 All About Me!

“We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance.”

Julia Cameron, The Right to Write

This quote encapsulates what writing means to me - a way of reaching my highest self.  I believe many of us share the same inner truths, are on the same spiritual path and meet similar obstacles along the way.  By expressing myself I hope, through my writing, to inspire, encourage and transform other people’s lives.  If only just a little bit.

My journey began when I had blond pigtails and started writing my first novel aged seven. Although I gave up after thirty pages, the love of writing remained with me right through primary and secondary school.  It was the one subject I excelled in and the one subject in which I could let my imagination run riot.   I was also a massive bookworm, often taking out six books at a time from the local library.  I remember the joy of taking them home and stacking them in the order in which I would read them.  I adored books.  And still do.

So it made sense that I would be drawn toward a creative degree.  And by chance, and it was chance, I stumbled across a BA Hons Degree course which in its second year was still formative.  I was immediately offered a place to study Scriptwriting for Film & Television and along with forty other students of varying ages I spent three wonderful years learning how to write screenplays.

The next three years saw me in London. I had the great opportunity to work in the heart of the film industry helping develop the work of both new and established writers. I was employed by ICM, a talent agency, Casarotto Ramsay, a literary agency representing screenwriters and directors, Robert Fox, a theatre producer and The Almeida Theatre in Islington. For all of these companies I was employed as a reader. A reader is someone who is specifically taken on to read and critique all the incoming spec scripts/manuscripts. I was the filter who decided what to pass onto the agent or producer or what to pass.   It is this professional background which I use in my Critique Service (link).

I did not forget my own writing ambitions though.  During this time I wrote a ten minute film which was short-listed for the BBC’s 10×10 scheme.   When this was passed up, I can still remember how disappointed I felt.  It acted as a turning point. I decided to leave London and follow my itchy feet.  Before I left I trained as a TEFL teacher.  This decision turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done because it taught me all the English grammar I’d ever need to know!

I adore travel and the exploration of other countries.  I lived in both Costa Rica and Madrid, along the way writing a feature film which is in development.  I’m obviously drawn to Spanish cultures as I now live in a small Andalucian mountain town called Competa, a pueblo blanco, and have found my home in Spain.  Its warm climate, sensual lifestyle and laidback life appeal to me on many different levels.  I have been teaching creative writing ever since and have published articles in UK magazines. 

In 2006, I started my first novel, The Voices of Angels.  It’s the story of an ordinary girl who has an extraordinary gift – she can see when people are about to die.  In November 2008 it was voted number one book on Harper Collins’ website, authonomy. 

Please take a stroll around my site and enjoy.  It’s for you – anyone who’s ever had a dream to write.