Writer Sally Quilford has had her fair share of ups and downs but her positive outlook and can-do attitude means her writing career is going from strength to strength. She generously shares her passion with all aspiring writers.@Scattyjan When did you start writing and what inspired you?
@Quillers I started writing in 1994. Before then I'd had an idea I wanted to be a Writer (which is a bit different to being a writer, if that makes any sense), but had never put pen to paper. I read voraciously, having been introduced to thrillers by my dad. I'm one of the few women who count Jack Higgins, Frederick Forsyth and Alistair McLean amongst my favourite writers. As for more literary work, I'd left school with no qualifications and a vague memory of having read The Long and the Short And the Tall in my English class. Then at the age of 31 I started an English Literature GCSE, and suddenly I was faced with all these wonderful texts, Great Expectations, Cider With Rosie, and Susan Hill's The King of the Castle, along with some very good poetry, and I so wanted to be able to write something as enthralling. Of course I didn't (and have accepted I probably never will). I was dreadful and wrote some pretty awful poetry (which was hailed as undiscovered literary genius by several vanity publishers). I also wrote a lot of fanfiction, and I'd recommend that for any writer as a way of cutting their writing teeth. There's no money in it, but it's very satisfying.
I'm glad to say that whilst my poetry was a bit grim (in more ways than one) my ideas for short stories weren't awful, even if the writing left a lot to be desired. Eleven years after I started writing, when I started taking things more seriously, I dusted off a story called Darling Stefan, that I'd written in those early days, tidied it up, and sent it to Bewrite, where it was accepted for their anthology The Creature In The Rose. Since then I've rewritten and sold a couple more that I wrote in the early days. So the moral is, never throw anything away and don't give up!
@Scattyjan That's an impressive list of awards you have - what was your very first one and which means the most to you?
@Quillers The first award I ever won was for a Derbyshire County Council writing comp. The one that means the most is probably my shortlisting in the Aeon Award. It was the first time I'd ever tried writing sci-fi consciously though I'd written several stories before then that could be construed as sci-fi. But every placing is special. It's validation that I'm on the right track.
@Scattyjan Ill-health in 2007 sparked a major upsurge in your output - if you'd carried on with the volunteer work, do you think your writing career would have progressed this far?
@Quillers Yes and no. I got quite involved in my voluntary work, to the extent that it had an emotional toll on me. That tipped over into my home life, leaving me feel a bit stressed at times. Writing was a release then, and it's a release now. Only I'm able to do more of it, because I have more time. Whether I do or not is another matter. I've actually been more prolific in the past, but haven't produced work of a very high standard. Now I tend to write less, but it's better written. I hope! But giving up voluntary work has allowed me time to say yes to other opportunities, such as writing for Writers Forum magazine.
@Scattyjan #blogtakeoverday was such a fantastic idea - what was the inspiration for it?
@Quillers A couple of reasons. Things had been getting a bit grim in blogland, due to charges of plagiarism against one writer. And I'd had a bad year in 2008, for several reasons, not least because I was 45 and that was the age my mum died. So #blogtakeover day was my way of putting all that behind me and trying to bring a bit of fun back to blogland. I was overwhelmed by how many people took part. I know I can usually rely on one or two people to rise to the occasion, but the whole thing became bigger than I ever thought. When Teresa Ashby, one of the best womens magazine writers in the country took part too I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I want to do it again someday, maybe on my next birthday, or perhaps at Christmas. What about a New Year's Day blog takeover day? I think it's probably best to keep the takeovers few and far between so that people don't get bored with them.
@Scattyjan If you had to choose just one piece of advice for aspiring writers, what would it be?
@Quillers Don't believe everyone who tells you they're an expert. Especially on internet writing forums. I wasted a lot of my writing life 'listening' to people who seemed to talk the talk. Then I learned, too late, that they'd barely walked the walk. It left me confused and lacking in direction. I felt in my head that I should be one type of writer, when in my heart I knew I was a different type of writer. I make no apologies nowadays about being populist. I want to be read by lots of people, not just a few academics. Only when I decided to take the advice that I agreed with and ignore that which didn't apply to me did I really begin to find my voice.
@Scattyjan How many websites have you built?
@Quillers Ooh, loads over the years, both for my writing, and for actors that I've liked, but for a long time I just used free web providers before first trying Bravenet, then moving to MrSite. But to say I build websites in a bit misleading. I'm afraid I'm more of a drag and drop sort of girl, and rely on others to do the clever html bits.
@Scattyjan You seem to specialize in short stories and articles - any plans for a novel?
@Quillers I've written several novels, all languishing on my hard drive. At this moment in time I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the seventh time. I'm a lot less confident about novel writing than I am about short stories and articles. I start off in a flurry of activity and enthusiasm, then by the time I've written about 20k words I start to doubt myself. Then by the time I get to 50k words, I hate every one of those 50k words. But I'm told by novelist friends that this is normal. I just need to get myself over that wall. That and the fear of taking my middle aged self to agents who probably want someone younger, slimmer, prettier. I'd love to have a novel on the shelves, with my name on the front cover. The ultimate dream is to be a BOGOF offer in Tescos... But dreams only come true if you produce the goods. So I've got to get cracking.
@Scattyjan With all the help available on your sites and your workshops, do you see tutoring, perhaps for Adult Education, as a possible career option?
@Quillers Yes, I'd really enjoy that. I've often thought I'd like to do more writing workshops (and am available to anyone who wants to hire me!) I loved the ones I did in Wigan, even though I hadn't a clue what I was doing. I've taken courses in training now, so am a little more knowledgeable about how to put together a good workshop. I did a free online workshop on character building back last year in a closed blog. Whilst it was very enjoyable, and I got great feedback, I decided I'd much prefer face to face courses that I can run over one or two days. I like to see the whites of peoples' eyes so I can see for myself if they're really enjoying it.
@Scattyjan I could get seriously hooked on your story generator - not writing - just clicking the options! Have you had much feedback from authors selling work borne from it?
@Quillers Yes, a few writers posted on womagwriter's blog, saying they'd used it and sold a story. (I think they posted there because they think Womagwriter and I are one and the same, but we're not). I got the scenarios from browsing through tons of womens' magazines, then mixing the whole lot up. The widget for the generator was created by Cally Taylor.
It's a smashing piece of kit - thanks Sally! Whether you're just starting along that lonely, rocky road as a writer, or just looking for inspiration, be sure to stop at Sally's website to fill your tank - it's the equivalent of taking a shovel, red triangle and blanket on a winter's journey!
