Kitty Johnson's Blog, page 3
November 23, 2022
Trust That Ideas Will Come
I frequently attend the London Writer's Salon sessions which take place via Zoom between 8.00am - 9.00am (in the UK - other times in other parts of the world). It's a great way to start the day, to write with hundreds of other writers. Before the start of the session, an inspiring quote is always shared. This was today's quote, by Annie Dillard, in her article Write Till You Drop.
“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”
Basically, Annie is telling us to trust that more ideas will come to us, and it reminded me of when I was writing my language readers for Cambridge University Press (under the name Margaret Johnson). I enjoyed writing them - with their limited vocabulary and grammar, they were always a satisfying challenge. They had to be page-turners so that people wanted to finish them, despite the difficulty of reading in a second language. That meant the idea for the story had to be a good one, not a half-hearted one. In the back of my mind, I'd sometimes think, I could use that idea for something I REALLY wanted to write - ie for the type of emotional book club fiction I write now. But I learnt to do just as Annie suggested and to trust that more ideas would come.
So far, they have. Long may it continue!
“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”
Basically, Annie is telling us to trust that more ideas will come to us, and it reminded me of when I was writing my language readers for Cambridge University Press (under the name Margaret Johnson). I enjoyed writing them - with their limited vocabulary and grammar, they were always a satisfying challenge. They had to be page-turners so that people wanted to finish them, despite the difficulty of reading in a second language. That meant the idea for the story had to be a good one, not a half-hearted one. In the back of my mind, I'd sometimes think, I could use that idea for something I REALLY wanted to write - ie for the type of emotional book club fiction I write now. But I learnt to do just as Annie suggested and to trust that more ideas would come.
So far, they have. Long may it continue!
November 2, 2022
Roller Coasters
What is it like to be on a countdown towards publication? Towards your dream of being published by a major publisher coming true?
Well, it’s a crazy roller coaster ride, to be honest. Not that I’m comparing the experience to my misguided decision to give in to my younger brother’s pressure to go on the roller coaster at Great Yarmouth’s pleasure beach this summer. (I know, I’m definitely old enough to know better, and I’ve been motion sick enough times to know it wouldn’t turn out well). So, no, I don’t mean that waiting for Five Winters by Kitty Johnson to come out is a white-knuckle ride that’s making me ill. More that my emotions swing from excitement to anxiety and back again with a touch of is this really happening? thrown into the mix.
It's not the first time I’ve been published by any means – check out the books published under the names Margaret Johnson and Margaret K Johnson if you want to see what I’ve had published before. I was proud of all of those books, and the language readers in particular have sold around the world meaning that I’ve been able to work part-time, leaving more time for writing. My self-published novels were all close to my heart and well-received by those who read them. Unfortunately, not many people did. Self-promotion is not my forte. Some authors are amazing at self-publishing – while I’ve been striving for a book deal, these entrepreneurs have brought out title after title, putting themselves out there, gaining fans. I’m in awe of them, I really am.
But I craved a book deal, and for that I needed an agent. When I found one – a very good one (Carly Watters of PS Literary) – via a pitch event organised by the Women’s Fiction Association – I thought the fulfilment of my dream was imminent. Not so – more rejection followed as the novel Carly took me on for failed to sell (yet!!). Then I spent a year writing a new novel that wasn’t in step with what editors (and, it turned out, Carly) were looking for.
At times like these you can either throw in the towel or just choose to carry on regardless. It helps that I’ve always been stubborn I suppose. No, not stubborn – determined – that sounds better, doesn’t it? Determination can get you a long way especially if it’s accompanied by ideas. In April 2021 I submitted my idea for Five Winters to Carly and she loved it. By November 2021 she was submitting the completed draft to potential editors. A month later, one of them said ‘yes’.
And now as I wait for Five Winters to hit the virtual shelves, I think about books I want to write in the future and about the time around five years ago when I took the decision not to continue self-publishing. How for a year or so, I stopped writing altogether, concentrating on developing my creative writing courses and trying to convince myself I was fine with that. I wasn’t though – writing is a huge part of who I am and what I do, and I realised I needed to write whether my words saw the light of day or not.
I’m very glad they are going to though!!
Well, it’s a crazy roller coaster ride, to be honest. Not that I’m comparing the experience to my misguided decision to give in to my younger brother’s pressure to go on the roller coaster at Great Yarmouth’s pleasure beach this summer. (I know, I’m definitely old enough to know better, and I’ve been motion sick enough times to know it wouldn’t turn out well). So, no, I don’t mean that waiting for Five Winters by Kitty Johnson to come out is a white-knuckle ride that’s making me ill. More that my emotions swing from excitement to anxiety and back again with a touch of is this really happening? thrown into the mix.
It's not the first time I’ve been published by any means – check out the books published under the names Margaret Johnson and Margaret K Johnson if you want to see what I’ve had published before. I was proud of all of those books, and the language readers in particular have sold around the world meaning that I’ve been able to work part-time, leaving more time for writing. My self-published novels were all close to my heart and well-received by those who read them. Unfortunately, not many people did. Self-promotion is not my forte. Some authors are amazing at self-publishing – while I’ve been striving for a book deal, these entrepreneurs have brought out title after title, putting themselves out there, gaining fans. I’m in awe of them, I really am.
But I craved a book deal, and for that I needed an agent. When I found one – a very good one (Carly Watters of PS Literary) – via a pitch event organised by the Women’s Fiction Association – I thought the fulfilment of my dream was imminent. Not so – more rejection followed as the novel Carly took me on for failed to sell (yet!!). Then I spent a year writing a new novel that wasn’t in step with what editors (and, it turned out, Carly) were looking for.
At times like these you can either throw in the towel or just choose to carry on regardless. It helps that I’ve always been stubborn I suppose. No, not stubborn – determined – that sounds better, doesn’t it? Determination can get you a long way especially if it’s accompanied by ideas. In April 2021 I submitted my idea for Five Winters to Carly and she loved it. By November 2021 she was submitting the completed draft to potential editors. A month later, one of them said ‘yes’.
And now as I wait for Five Winters to hit the virtual shelves, I think about books I want to write in the future and about the time around five years ago when I took the decision not to continue self-publishing. How for a year or so, I stopped writing altogether, concentrating on developing my creative writing courses and trying to convince myself I was fine with that. I wasn’t though – writing is a huge part of who I am and what I do, and I realised I needed to write whether my words saw the light of day or not.
I’m very glad they are going to though!!
September 23, 2022
Notes on the Queen's Passing -Public and Private Grieving
The recent death of Queen Elizabeth II in the UK has been quite something in terms of a shared, public grief – even many people who are not royalists have been drawn in. That queue to see the queen lying in state! Incredible. The awe-inspiring processions of the funeral. The Queen’s corgis and her pony waiting to wish her a final farewell at Windsor! Guaranteed to pull at your heart strings.
I felt saddened by the Queen’s passing myself – she had always been there during my lifetime. Governments and Prime Ministers have come and gone, but she provided continuity. But I don’t suppose I was alone in finding that my sadness at her death was fuelled by more private griefs. For me, it made me realise how shallowly I’d buried my grief at my mum’s passing, four and a half years ago. Grief never goes away, does it? It just hides for a while, but easily pops up again. Which is quite right really, if you’ve loved someone. I have drawn on my experience of losing my mum for my writing, and I know she wouldn’t begrudge me that, since she was such an avid reader and an enthusiastic fan of everything I produced.
The Queen lived a very long, fruitful life, as did my mum, who died at 92. It is so much sadder when people die before their time. One of my students tragically died around the same time as the Queen – I don’t know how old K was, but if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say late thirties, early forties. Her death was both sudden and completely unexpected. She left behind a husband and a primary school aged son. K was an exceptional student – so talented, so enthusiastic, so creative. She specialised in the macabre and loved to write dark short stories, although she would turn her hand to writing anything and also produced an amazing play and a moving poem, even though she wasn’t a poetry fan.
Halloween was K’s absolute favourite time of year – she always went to town decorating her house and choosing an incredible costume for herself. K was such a vibrant presence in our creative writing sessions, that when I learnt of her death, it was all too easy to imagine her somewhere observing events and emotions with a view to writing about them.
I shan’t forget her, and I, for one, will be raising a glass to her memory on 31st October.
I felt saddened by the Queen’s passing myself – she had always been there during my lifetime. Governments and Prime Ministers have come and gone, but she provided continuity. But I don’t suppose I was alone in finding that my sadness at her death was fuelled by more private griefs. For me, it made me realise how shallowly I’d buried my grief at my mum’s passing, four and a half years ago. Grief never goes away, does it? It just hides for a while, but easily pops up again. Which is quite right really, if you’ve loved someone. I have drawn on my experience of losing my mum for my writing, and I know she wouldn’t begrudge me that, since she was such an avid reader and an enthusiastic fan of everything I produced.
The Queen lived a very long, fruitful life, as did my mum, who died at 92. It is so much sadder when people die before their time. One of my students tragically died around the same time as the Queen – I don’t know how old K was, but if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say late thirties, early forties. Her death was both sudden and completely unexpected. She left behind a husband and a primary school aged son. K was an exceptional student – so talented, so enthusiastic, so creative. She specialised in the macabre and loved to write dark short stories, although she would turn her hand to writing anything and also produced an amazing play and a moving poem, even though she wasn’t a poetry fan.
Halloween was K’s absolute favourite time of year – she always went to town decorating her house and choosing an incredible costume for herself. K was such a vibrant presence in our creative writing sessions, that when I learnt of her death, it was all too easy to imagine her somewhere observing events and emotions with a view to writing about them.
I shan’t forget her, and I, for one, will be raising a glass to her memory on 31st October.
