Blog 98 – Skinning Your Cat … by Ms Paige Turner
Gary used to come and decorate our house. He also came to my writing classes and played piano for many of our shows. I asked him if he would give my eight year old piano lessons. He paused with paintbrush in hand. Then he said, “Is she drawn to the piano?”
Miss Trial is married now. When she comes ‘home’ I’ve noticed that at some point, I hear the piano in my study being played. “Yes, Gary. Miss Trial is drawn to the piano.”
Are you drawn to writing or reading words? Because if you really are, then you will be skinning your cat in your own fashion. Last Thursday Amanda Hatter came to talk about her journey to publication with her children’s novel, Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost. Amanda told her story well. A number of top literary agents vied to represent her. There was talk of film rights. But after securing a top literary agent, it didn’t happen that way and so Amanda made sure it happened in her own fashion. She started her own publishing company and she’s sold hundreds of copies.
An hour before the talk a Creative Inker was reading in class. She said, “I’m not writing for publication. I’m writing so that someone close to me might read this story someday.”
I’m so pleased that so many former Creative Inkers are having success with agents and publishers or independently publishing. It’s what I thought, many years ago, I was starting out to do: write to be published. I still do. But I look now at what I really have been doing. I’ve been doing something whilst I was planning something else. I began teaching Creative Writing whilst I was writing for publication. And I have been published in all sorts of ways, skinning those cats. But I’ve never stopped teaching. And I’ve never stopped writing. I’m drawn to both.
Creative Ink Publishing had the joy of publishing Patricia Sentinella’s Dear John, Dear Anyone a couple of years back. I know Pat is drawn to words; drawn to finding the right word; drawn to the pleasure of the word on the page and on the tongue. When I was editing her words I could taste them.
If you aren’t drawn to something, don’t do it. Thanks, Gary, wherever you are. I hope your cat is happy.
Creative Ink Classes – Spring Term 2015 – Tuesdays – Get Inspired – Two places left
Thursdays – Get that Book Out of You – 10.00am until midday at the Fitzwilliams Centre, Beaconsfield.
Dear John, Dear Anyone by Patricia Sentinella/Creative Ink Publishing available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle.
Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost by Amanda Hatter available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle/Woodside White Publishing
Blackberry Promises/Creative Ink Publishing by Jan Moran Neil available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle
Serving Bluebird Pie/Creative Ink Publishing by Jan Moran Neil available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle.