LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF
My name – my personal and professional name – is Rob Taylor and I'm a writer.
It
is rather strange to state that as a fact after years of scribbling,
despair at rejections tempered by moments of high elation when one of
my stories was accepted by a respected magazine. But I can state it
as a truth now, for I write regularly for several publications, and
my first compilation has recently been published with a fixed
contract for two more to follow. At the moment, I write short
stories, but more than a few friends have encouraged me with prompts
such as “You have a novel in you, you know,”
and, “A short story has the
potential to be a novel writ long.” I am working on the idea.
But
enough of that.
About
a year or so ago, I was unexpectedly made redundant. Jobless, but
with a good-enough redundancy bank balance to keep me going for a
bit, and a determination to do what I wanted to do – write – I
took the plunge and converted the spare bedroom into a study. I
started writing full time and joined the North Finchley Writers'
Group, where I met some lovely people who, one way or another, gave
me the encouragement to develop my ideas.
All
to my satisfaction, but my wife's dismay.
The
members of our writers’ group are a very mixed bunch, as you will
find out. We meet every month at a different house and whoever is the
host gets to provide tea and coffee – often with cake or ‘light
snacks’ – and chooses a topic for discussion. We talk, voice
opinions and yes, sometimes we argue. But it is all forgotten when we
walk away into the night.
Mostly.
They've
had quite a turnover of members over the years. Some who came for a
couple of meetings and then disappear. Some who weren't really
writers but 'dabble' and think that attending a writers' group
meeting makes them one. They never last long. Some have moved along
and, sadly, one or two have passed on to the great Library in the
Sky. Nowadays we have about a dozen or so regulars. There are one or
two who are deliberately obstructive. Outspoken. Single minded.
Cantankerous.
Some
are shy and introvert and, in truth, offer little. But they listen
and learn, and that is what we are all there for. To learn from
others, be they best sellers or unpublished writers. Because,
whatever our differences, we stick together and, if anyone is down,
we stand by them and offer encouragement. If someone is on a high,
then we enthuse in their success.
Most
of us, anyway.
We
do have a few Best Sellers. Angela Knight, for example, and Zak
Nichols. Charlotte Caroll is more than adept at Regency romances,
(not my bag, but, well, credit where credit's due) and Jean Hart uses
her history degree to good effect, as does Hilary Jackson, albeit
covering a different period of time.
I'll
introduce them all properly as we go along...