Guest post by Eirin Thompson

I'm currently up in Scotland in the mobile writing retreat (camper van). The scenery is wonderful, so I'm getting plenty of exercise and as the weather isn't so wonderful I'm also getting a fair bit of writing done. Getting online isn't always easy though, so apologies for the lack of competition links etc. Instead, Eirin Thompson is here to offer words of encouragement.

You probably already know Eirin from her womag stories and comments on this blog.

Some Advantages of an Extensive Back-Catalogue

By Eirin (E.D.) Thompson

It’s difficult to dispute that the young are better at lots of things. Gymnastics. Rock music. Getting the most from their phones. 

But here’s the good news (for those of us of a certain age) – when it comes to writing, older might very well be better. At least that’s my opinion.

Clearly there have been some very fine books written by younger authors. But, as regards having a wealth of experience upon which to draw for weaving stories, older writers simply have bigger back-catalogues.

I came to writing for popular women’s magazines later in life. Part of me wishes I’d discovered the opportunities sooner. But another part acknowledges that I might not have been ready.

Seeing my work in the ‘womags’, as they are fondly known, is an absolute thrill and a joy, and I think a big part of the reason I’m having a measure of success is because I’m versatile, and that’s due, in significant part, to my age.

Being older, and close to my mum, for example, I have an eye and an ear for zingy women in their seventies, which has given me Maureen and Jean, a recurring double-act in The People’s Friend about whom I love to write.

But, like a Russian doll, I also contain all the younger versions of myself, and can tap into these for characters of a variety of ages. I thoroughly enjoy writing what the ‘Friend’ refers to as ‘Junior’ tales – those told from the point of view of a child – and I think these work because I can see the situation in the story from the perspectives of both the child and the adults.

More good news is that it is entirely unnecessary to have a carefully-constructed and flawless CV in order to write fiction – all experience is valid. It doesn’t matter if you made mistakes, took time out to raise a family, changed career twice or three times or even got sacked (or dumped, or heartbroken, or lost or hurt in some other way), because everything is redeemable as potential material, and the more, the better.

No one on any magazine fiction desk has ever asked me what qualifications I have to submit work to them. And, now that I am also writing suspense novels, my publisher there has yet to ask me such a question. In both lines of writing, editors seem interested pretty much exclusively in what is on the pages you submit – if the material is good enough, then you’re good enough.

My new novel, Closing In, has at its core a mystery, which I hope will have readers turning the pages compulsively. But it is also a story about relationships and emotions, and I sincerely believe this gives the book a richer texture. I could not have written this novel twenty years ago, and not just because Caroline, my main character, is in her fifties.

I am not anti-younger writers. Not at all. But I am pro-older ones.

‘Closing In’, with the author name E.D. Thompson, is, in nutshell this: Christmas. An old flame. And a BIG secret. It is the product of my fifty-five years on the planet, much of it spent reading. I’d be delighted if you took a look.

There's more information about Eirin and her womag writing here and as I'm not online much to chat, she's very kindly agreed to respond to some of your writing related questions.

Guest post by novelist Eirin Thompson

Eirin Thompson regularly comments on this blog, so when I heard about her good news I thought others of you would like to share in it and learn how it came about.

I am surprised and delighted to share with you the news that I’m having a book published on 1st July. It’s called ‘I Know I Saw Her’, with the author name E.D. Thompson, published by Hachette. It’s a mystery/suspense novel, and the main action takes place in a quiet suburban street over one sultry summer. Big among my influences were the Hitchcock film ‘Rear Window’ and Paula Hawkins’ novel ‘The Girl on the Train’.

I am surprised because, some time ago, I thought I’d had my moment as a writer and it was over; I gave up, retrained in something else and set writing dreams aside. But then I discovered the possibility of writing short stories for women’s magazines. After a stuttering start, I began to get acceptances and some very buoying feedback, and to grow in confidence. I also learned, with practice, how to write fictional dialogue properly for the first time!

On the face of it, I’ve accumulated a few bits and bobs over the years that might equip me as a writer. I trained as a newspaper reporter with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and worked for some years in that capacity. I have an English Literature degree with First Class Honours and a Masters in Creative Writing. I got a two-book deal in my thirties for a darkish comedy drama about family life and a sequel set in the workplace.

But when my two-book deal ended, not having set the world on fire with sales, the third novel, on which I had worked so hard, languished in a folder on my shelf.

My writing ‘career’ was caput and, my three children all now at ‘big’ school, I looked elsewhere for a living.

Where were my writing qualifications now? All muddled up with the many other roles I’d played during a messy life that, far from being strategically-aimed at the literary, also included stints as a waitress, a civil servant, a chambermaid, a cleaner, an usherette and even a fairground attendant.

I retrained in Children’s Care, Education and Development and then in Playwork and spent several fulfilling years working with children and young people.

Forced to take some weeks off from my new employment to recover from surgery, I was brought a few women’s magazines and became intrigued by the fiction sections – were these filled by in-house writers, or did they consider submitted work?

I can’t recall exactly what homework I did – it might have been then that I invested in The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook – but of a bunch of three tales that I sent off, one was accepted. I was extremely lucky, because that was all it took for me to believe that there was at least the possibility of building something and I tentatively began to submit more.

I discovered helpful and interesting blogs like this one, and Helen Yendall’s blog-about-writing, and I found that I absolutely loved writing for what are fondly known as the ‘womags’. One of the wonderful things about conjuring up such a variety of stories is that it makes excellent use of a life lived messily – no experience is wasted; it can all be used to inform and fuel the fiction. Nobody at the magazines asks what your qualifications to write are, either, or whether you’ve failed in the past – the editors are interested in what’s on the page you submit. The nice ones – and I’ve only encountered nice ones – are interested in you, too.

With some success achieved, I eventually started to consider the notion of trying my hand at a novel again – daunting, when you’ve had to write off one before. I studied Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’, had a gnawing idea for a mystery/suspense story, and finally decided to go for it.

The result is ‘I Know I Saw Her’, which I sent to my former agent, who passed it on to my former

editor at Hachette, who said yes!

The fifty-one-year-old main character, Alice, is a supply teacher who is struggling with work and with other things. She often feels fragile, but she’s stronger than she thinks she is, which is just as well, given what she’s about to stumble into – dark dealings in suburbia, a neighbour’s life in danger, and local police who dismiss her as a crank.

I’ve worked hard in an effort to make the book a page-turner and a thumping good summer read – because I really want readers to enjoy it. When you get right down to it, that’s pretty much the reason we write anything, isn’t it?

But I really don’t think I’d be in this position if I hadn’t started writing for women’s magazines. The boost it gave me to be accepted for publication, and the lessons it taught me about writing for a discerning readership were invaluable. You can buy ‘I Know I Saw Her’ by E.D. Thompson here.

Surprised, delighted and wishing much writing success to all the womagwriters and competition-enterers who follow Patsy’s blog.

Eirin

P.S. I have a copy of the book to give away (UK or RoI only, I’m afraid). If anyone would like to be considered, please pop your name in the comments section below and I’ll pull one from a hat, if there’s more than one of you. Thanks!

If you'd like a copy of Eirin's book, please say so in the comments. Entries close midnight 5th July (UK time) and I'll announce the winner soon after. They'll be asked to email Eirin with the UK or ROI address they'd like the book sent to.