Never Say Never

Do you worry about showing someone your work in progress? Are you someone who keeps putting that manuscript back in the drawer, hoping that when you retrieve it again, some fairy with magic dust has miraculously put things right?  If that’s you then join my club.  We all fear letting our ‘children’ loose, but sometimes you’ve got to have faith that however bad you think your writing is, somewhere within that manuscript is a great story, desperate to be told, and out in the world there are thirsty readers waiting for your words. 

Back in 2019 I wrote the first draft of The Sleeping Ghosts of Timerton under a working title of The Bitter Taste of Forbidden Fruit. Prior to this I’d written the first draft of a ridiculously large novel that gave me such a headache that I relegated it to my bottom drawer. I decided that I really needed to learn more about creative writing and literature in order to be a better writer so, at the age of 57, I studied and graduated with a BA Hons in English Literature & Creative Writing.  As frustrating as it was, I had to put Sleeping Ghosts on hold for the duration of those studies.  When I eventually returned to my manuscript, a more knowledgeable writer and having worked at my craft, I came to the realisation that it needed a lot of work, so I spent many hours re-writing the whole novel; it was hard, but it was necessary.

While I was working through my manuscript I was fortunate to come across the Writers & Artists course, Edit your Novel, with author William Ryan.  This was a six week course incorporating: Central Characters: Subsidiary Characters: Character Conflict: Submission of 300 word synopsis and 800 words from the 1st Chapter: 500 word synopsis and 800 word extract for feedback from tutor and Literary Agent.  I saw this as a great investment as I knew that I needed feedback and help from those who had succeeded if I were to follow them up the ladder of success. I dived in with enthusiasm but also had concerns about what other writers in the group may think of my writing.  Confidence in my ability is something that I had always lacked. 

I started this course on the 21st of October 2024 and joined 9 other writers, all from different backgrounds, and all at very different stages of their writing career.  Bill immediately put us at ease, and knowing everyone else had the same goals, lifted my spirits, giving me hope for the future of my novel.  By the end of our second week I immediately knew where to concentrate my efforts and reading other writers submissions with tutor feedback taught me a great deal.  A key takeaway from Bill’s advice was that I should focus on Margaret and Clara, the children in the story.  It was, if you pardon the cliché, a lightbulb moment.  A re-write of sections was required to reflect a key change.  Again, this was hard, but again, it was necessary.

By the end of this course, not only had I been given direction and great tutoring, but I finally achieved my dream of seeing The Sleeping Ghosts of Timerton for sale in Waterstones.  In addition, 7 of us from that same course created our own writing group and to this day we meet once a month to discuss and critique our work and are there to support each other throughout our different paths to success.   I am sure that if I had not undertaken this course then I would still be lost in the sentences of despair; the paragraphs of anxiety, and this novel would have been consigned to that bottom drawer.

Get your copy of The Sleeping Ghosts of Timerton here.

A qualified private pilot at 17, a Commercial Pilot, and winner of multiple flying awards, Tracey Atkinson-Page had always favoured the creative arts so upon retiring from a high-pressure environment involving criminal intelligence she returned to her love of writing to bring pleasure to others. She holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing and is also a qualified English Teacher. She spends many hours a day writing in her garden chalet with the support of her orphan ginger cat and surrounded by a wall of books. Her ambition in life is to play a part in encouraging young readers to read books with the same enthusiasm that she had at the age of 4 when she first started writing stories for her dolls.