Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER.
Here I am at Gunnas Masterclass trying to write the first creative thing I have written in a long time. I am surrounded by people candidly sharing their experiences of overcoming anxiety, depression and cancer, negotiating the politics of mothers’ groups or working for evangelical Christian organisations. And they all seem to have an idea for a book mapped out in their heads. I remain quiet and say nothing until Catherine turns to me, hoping I can come up with something that sounds as equally impressive as the people who went before me.
‘So, why are you here?’, she asks.
‘I want to rediscover my passion for creative writing.’ I say, or something along those lines.
‘You have a book in you,’ don’t you she asks.
‘Yes I say’, with a confident tone of voice. I say something about it being a fiction book for young adults with themes such as a journey and self discovery.
But the further we get into the class, the more I question myself. Should I write fiction or non fiction? Maybe a combination of both. And what exactly will my novel be about? Should my character be me- a quiet introverted person who doesn’t reveal much and is hung up about having a disability or should she be the self that I wish I was? A strong, bold confident woman who happens to have a disability but doesn’t let it define her? I don’t know the answers to these questions yet, but I know that somewhere hidden deep inside me is a character and a story that is waiting to be brought to the surface and I have to go and find it.