The Poisonwood Shadows, and How I Learned to Be a ‘Writer’
The Poisonwood Shadows has tormented me for almost seven years now (in the nicest possible way!). I began writing it in 2011 and, let’s just say – it’s been a real journey. I’d struggle to quantify just how much I have learned about writing with these books. To begin with, I submitted it to agents, was rightly rejected (back in 2012!) and then self-published it WAAAAAY before it was ready. I’ve lost count of the number of edits it has gone through. But it’s been a brilliant first project, and I’m very proud of what it is today. Everything I have learned over the last few years will go towards making my future books even better.
The idea for my urban fantasy trilogy came to me in a dream. There was an enigmatic ‘shadowy’ character (very handsome!) on a rooftop in a city watching a girl in her room. Not in a creepy way, more in a protective sort of way…It developed from there and somehow, once I began writing, the novel found its own way. It follows the story of Scarlett Winchester, a young woman with a mystery past who becomes involved with the city of Poisonwood’s secret ‘Shadow Army’.
Originally, this was one hella-long novel in three parts. So long that it was intimidating…so the decision to split it into three novellas has been somewhat of a relief for me, and probably any potential readers. Yes, I have to try and get three times as many reviews (what was I thinking??), but I am happy with the decision.
I have made some mistakes as a writer. After a few early blunders regarding the querying/publishing aspects of my first book, I now know that everything I write must be reviewed, polished and perfected before I even think about sending it to agents. Since completing the books, I have written three additional novels, however all of them are in various stages of editing at the moment, and that’s where they’ll stay until I am 100% happy they are the best they can be, and only then will I think about querying.
The publishing industry is big and confusing, and the wider writing community can be a little intimidating (as much as I love it – it’s just so big and there’s always a lot going on!). As a very introverted person, I often worry I’m not doing things right, because other writers do a lot of things that I don’t. I sometimes wonder if I’m doing something wrong by not doing something, by not participating in various hashtags and writing programmes or forums, by not sharing my work, etc…But it’s fine. I am happy to keep things simple and focus on my books until I am ready to begin pitching and querying. I am finding what works for me.
I have a day job, so fitting writing in with real life can be tricky, so much so that I have to schedule on a spreadsheet exactly what I’m working on each day to ensure I meet my targets. I love writing, but it drives me nuts sometimes, so I’ve found that I have to structure how I work. I need those targets and small wins to keep me motivated, and aim to always be learning and developing, and to never give up. I could apply this to many aspects of my life, as I’m sure we all could, so I’m grateful to my first set of books for helping me to learn this.
Fantastic Book Dragon 