I’m thrilled to have a great blogger friend & Blogger Club UK linky co-hostess on my blog today. Debbie Stansil is the writer & creator of My Random Musings & a published author. To celebrate the release of her newest book, Parodies and Piss Takes, she has a guest post to share with us today about how she was inspired to become a writer. And Debbie gives us a sneak peak at one of the poems from her new book! Take it away, Debbie…
I always say I knew from an early age I wanted to be a writer. Back then, I said I wanted to be a writer when other kids said they wanted to be pop stars.
I think I decided I wanted to be a writer around the age of seven. Even back then I loved reading and I would happily sit and read anything that was put in front of me.
To say I had a fairly overactive imagination as a child (and even now) would be an understatement, and I found I could picture the things those writers were talking about. I could almost see myself there.
At such a young age, this had a huge effect on me. It was like the words were magic that made ideas come to life.
I started writing my own stories, which I’m sure were awful, but I loved it. I loved having an idea and trying to bring it to life.
The primary school I attended was quite big on creative writing so I was forever writing one story or another at school. Then, of course, I went to secondary school, and there was far less emphasis on the creative side of English and much more on the actual language element and studying other people’s books.
The idea still niggled away at the back of my mind, but it was over taken by what I thought were more realistic ideas of what I wanted to be when I left school.
I did have a poem published when I was fifteen, but we don’t talk about that!
Anyway, I left school, went to college and found a job. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Except for me, it wasn’t. I hadn’t let go off the idea of wanting to be a writer. Not really. But now it was something I said rather than did.
I was forever telling people I wanted to write a book, but I didn’t actually ever attempt to do it.
I was in my thirties before I decided it was now or never. I played with a couple of ideas, but none of them really grabbed me.
I finally decided to just do it, and this time it would be different. I would finish the book. I started my blog around this time because I figured I needed some practice at actually writing after so long without writing anything more than a shopping list.
My blog opened my eyes to a whole new world. I genuinely believe that if I hadn’t started a blog, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I finished the book, and I self-published it. And then another. And another. I also started dabbling in freelance writing around my job.
It took me a while to get up the courage to leave my full-time job. I always told myself that freelancing isn’t reliable, or that I just needed one more client and then I’d do it.
One day, I just thought enough is enough. I put my notice in that day, and almost a year later, I am still writing.
I finally did it and I can now say that I am a writer.
After writing novels and short stories, I wanted to try my hand at something new, and when the idea for a book of poems popped up, I pushed aside the total terror that wanted to hold me back and just went for it.
Now I’m no deep and meaningful poet and I don’t claim to be – instead, I went for a series of fun, light hearted poems that have a bit of a laugh at some of the clichés within fiction.
Here is one of the poems from the collection so you can see what I mean:
An Ode to The Horror Genre
Vampires, witches, clowns and zombies too,
They go bump in the night and come after you,
Don’t run for the stairs, and certainly not the cellar,
You don’t want to be the cliché, killed by that fella’.
You’ve seen the movies and all of the shows,
Don’t be the bimbo; you know how it goes,
Go after the killer with an axe, gun or knife
It’s hardly a crime; he just killed your wife!
Whether he’ll skin you alive, or he just wants to play,
You could be next at the end of the day,
Show him you’re psycho, more twisted than him,
He’ll probably believe you; they’re all a bit dim.
Keep your eyes peeled, you’ve got to be quick,
Otherwise, he’ll see you as the next easy pick,
Follow this guide and you never know,
Maybe you’ll make it to the end of the show!
I want to leave you with one final thought – living your dream is possible, you just have to be willing to make it happen. I am the living proof of that!
If you enjoyed reading this poem then my collection, Parodies and Piss Takes, is available now on Amazon for only 99p.
Born in 1982 in North East England, I knew from an early age I wanted to be a writer. Life got in the way, and the dream was put on the back burner, although never forgotten. I am now a full-time author and freelance writer and I write my own blog, My Random Musings. I have published two novels, two short story collections, a non-fiction book and a collection of funny poems.
You can find Debbie on: Twitter, Facebook & Instagram. Check out her books over on Debbie’s Amazon Author Page.
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