Hello?

Who am I kidding? Having decided to get back into writing, and blogging to some degree, a quick browse of my most *cough* recent post tells me I’ve been here before and clearly failed. Oh dear.

Well, I suppose you could say that it will be easy to beat that pitiful effort. All I need do is blog twice and I will have doubled the previous attempt.

What is different this time though? Hard to say. Last time I sat down to blog I may have been thinking exactly as I am now, that I enjoy writing so why not do it more often? Perhaps I had just put down another cracking read and fancied having a go at writing my own book? Its certainly happened before and I wouldn’t be the first to have thought that. I’ve even had some success. Not much, but some. One story published in a magazine, and two in an anthology of short stories put together by my chums over at the Bolthole. Between the three stories, I made around £28. Not a huge sum by any standard but the money is irrelevant. Seriously. If you have ever tried to get anything published then you will understand the depth of need you feel in wanting so badly for acceptance. When it comes, its validation that someone else, even if it is just one person, values your effort. You can build on that, take heart and make the next one even better. You have a chance to learn the craft because you know, having had some success, that you are on the right path and that with perseverance you will hone your craft over time. All writing courses will tell you to write every single day. Stephen King has said it many times. Write, write, write. Even if you don’t feel like it and would rather watch some television dross, write something first. A headache? Write something. You get the point.

So, what is the catalyst that has brought me back to the keyboard? Well, there are three reasons really and all have come within a week of each other. I have taken this to be a sign.

1. A good friend of mine has recently had his first novel published. We started writing at roughly the same, both of us being heavily into the published stories which the Black Library (The publishing wing of the Games Workshop) were pumping out on a near-weekly basis. We attended a few conferences and conventions together and dreamed of our own work being published by the Black Library. They were good times. Where my path deviated was when my son was born. It’s very difficult to find the time to write with a pint-sized ball of energy to keep you distracted, but they’ve been fun years. He’s an amazing boy and I’m very proud of him, but I’m also a little pleased that he has started school too. It gives me time to remember what I was doing before he came into our lives. Still, I’m also very happy for my friend who clearly continued when our paths diverged. He is now published by HarperCollins and his book is called Goodbye for Now.
2. The rights bought by the magazine which published my story Legacy have now expired and so I’m free to find another buyer. I had a quick browse to check where I could potentially sell it and fired it off to an editor putting together a general fiction anthology. Fingers crossed they like it. I also tied up another story called Beast. Beast is a horror written in a kind of Lovecraftian style which I think works, but we’ll have to see. Again, I found a potential buyer and fired it off with a little covering letter.
3. Wilbur Smith. I’ve just finished his book On Leopard Rock. What a life that man has had. I love how he describes writing as the ultimate freedom and passport to do whatever the hell he likes. I’ve admired his work since I read River God, the first book of his I sampled, and have pretty much devoured anything he has ever produced. I much prefer his earlier work but also, I’m pleased he has finally come clean about co-authoring. Us readers ain’t stupid. We knew it wasn’t him writing those later books. Still, the man is to be admired and I would love to get back into writing so that I can create worlds of adventure that people can lose themselves in, just as he has.

Well, I think that is enough for today. Not a bad start, eh? The football is on in a minute though. I’ve just signed up to Now TV and bought a monthly subscription to their sports package. I can now watch premier league games which are streamed to whichever device I chose to use. Downstairs I have my Xbox, upstairs is my Mac and out an about I have my iPhone. Its cheaper than Sky and much more flexible for my needs. Chelsea welcome Man Utd today. I predict 3-1 to the Blues and a continuation of abuse for José Mourinho.

M.

Author: Mark S Thompson

Okay, so these things are kind of hit and miss. If you’re reading this then I am thankful to you for taking the time out of your day to do so. I’ll be honest, when I think of myself as a writer, I kinda cringe. Don’t get me wrong, it is the dream, it's​ just I never really believe it will go anywhere. When I think back to the day that I first knew I loved writing, and I mean really knew, I see myself sitting in an English lesson at secondary school. The school was called Wrotham and is in the county of Kent, England. As far as I know, it's still there. English was far and away my favourite subject. The best bit was when the teacher gave the class a selection of words and asked us to make up a story that either contained those words or was about those words, you know. At other times we would be given the first sentence and then write what happens next. Good times. Many times my work would reflect what I had recently read and it would be okay. Nothing special, just okay. On one occasion though I wrote about a merman called Finchy and can remember going into so much depth and detail about him and the underwater kingdom he lived in. I really enjoyed writing that and it must have shown because my teacher commented on it. She was really impressed and loved the story. That was it for me, my moment. Now when I write I think back to those great times and to that story. Hopefully, I’ll write something that you, the reader, will be moved to comment on. For me, there is no greater elixir View all posts by Mark S Thompson