Our Writer Of The Week this week is a name that will be very familiar to you all: Neilla Martin.
Neilla is the author of our current weekly serial “The Life We Choose”, among others, including “The End Of The Rainbow”, the Daily Serial that’s running on our website just now. How did Neila get into writing? Here’s how!
“Getting into writing was, for me, a sort of natural progression, like slipping into a pair of comfortable shoes. I suppose it had its beginnings in childhood, where I was an only child in a big extended family.
“All of them were keen conversationalists. My parents were skilled storytellers, and made up serialised bedtime stories for me.
“My grandfather followed up with folk tales of magic and mystery.”
A very stimulating place for a writer
“At the end of it all, I decided that I’d like to write for ‘The People’s Friend’. It’s a very stimulating place for a writer, brimful of ideas, good advice and readily given help.
“It must be unique, too, given its history. And the fact it is now a contemporary and forward-looking publication, yet still without losing its integrity.
“Plus, it made me Writer Of The Week!
“I particularly enjoy writing serials…from researching relevant periods in history to seeing characters develop until they seem to speak back to me from the page.
“I’ve never been in a writing group and don’t keep in touch with other writers. In fact, I’m quite secretive about my fiction writing…in the nicest possible way. I work mostly in the morning in my little study at the top of the house. I spend the last few hours of the day reading.”
My inspiration comes from people
“There’s a rhythm in that daily routine and it leaves plenty of time for conversation which is a source of inspiration and harks back to that childhood I mentioned. My inspiration comes from people, including the child that still exists inside me.
“I’m fascinated by how people talk. Their speech patterns as individually distinct as fingerprints.
“And prospective writers should always remember to carry an ‘ideas notebook’. Ideas can pop up at any hour of the day or night. Write them down or you might forget them.
“And my ambitions as a writer? To go on writing serials and perhaps to write a book, if I can find the time. I’ve managed two little ones so far, so perhaps I could build on that. We’ll see”
For more from our Writer Of The Week series, click the tag below.
Interested in writing a serial for the “Friend”? Take a look at some hints and tips here.
