A wall of text!

[Jeff Shone]

Hello forum users

 

My name is Jeff, I live in Stocksbridge, am married to Debs and have a 15 year old annoying teenager that plagues every part of my life with "Kevin" type noises/phrases.

 

I was a self employed fine furniture maker. I made custom pieces of free standing - built in furniture for homes. Before starting my own business I worked for such names as Andrew Lawton, Ian Saville and My Fathers Heart. However 5 years ago something happened that would bring drastic changes to my life. I remember the day clearly, I bent to pick up a chisel from my tool box under the bench and it felt like a bolt of lightening shot across my lower back and all the muscles went into spasm. It forced me to the floor in agony. I went to the hospital and after much too-ing and fro-ing I was diagnosed with a disk that was crushed and pressing upon nerves. I eventually had an operation to releave this pressure and the pain in my legs and groin were indeed lessened. The bad news though is that I am still left with a debilitating pain in the lower back. So much so that I have not worked since. I had to close the business and have been pretty much unemployed since.

 

Throughout all this time I have become controlled by the pain and as a consequence my life has gone steadily downhill. I became somewhat a recluse not even wanting to see my friends. I seem to be angry allot of the time and frustrated. At the lowest point I even thought about suicide! Eventually after 4 years I got my consultant to refer me to the Sheffield Pain Clinic (SPC) at the NGH.

 

So, what does all this have to do with the writers forums? Well as part of the service the SPC provides, I was referred to a psychologist as well as physiotherapy. Some of the conclusions the psychologist and I came to regarding my depression has come down to, what some might think obvious, that I no longer feel I have worth as a father, husband, provider. My wife works her butt off to keep us afloat and whilst that makes me love her more, for the sacrifices she gives. It compounds, in my mind that I am a leech, taking but giving nothing but grunts and moans in return! A "vicious circle" ensues, spiralling down a hole thats very difficult to climb out of.

 

I am having to accept that I will never again be able to do the jobs I grew up doing, i.e. physical labour. I have tried getting a job in an office and it simply is not me. I hated every moment of it. So I have to think what can I do that will give me meaning to my life. Whether that is something that I get paid to do is not so important as finding something that gives me a sense of worth, not just something to occupy my time.

 

I began to think of all the things I enjoy or might enjoy. I have always been an avid reader. Perhaps the only blessing this back pain has given me is the time to read. I read approximately 2-3 books a week. My main love is Fantasy books. If theres swords-magic-huge battles I love it! Think JRR Tolkein's Lord of the rings, GRR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire or Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and you pretty much got what I like I do also read anything with pirates in and war stories. Basically if its got white hats v black hats with some back stabbing and kissing and canoodling thrown in for good measure I will read it!

 

I have always thought that maybe there could be a book inside me waiting to get out. But I have no idea how to start. I have looked at some courses offered by googling "Sheffield creative writing courses" but the majority of the search result seemed to require lots of cash of which I have little. The search did show a degree course in creative writing at the Hallam University. However upon calling them for more information, I discovered that not only is the course full, but I would not qualify to take the course. They advised me to do an access course at the Sheffield College. I have sent off to the Sheffield College for information, but I don't know if this is the right course for me yet.

 

So we come to the nub of this post after long ramble of words. Can anyone offer me advice on what I should do to get started? I have little to zero cash to pay out. But any advice would be very much appreciated.

 

Kind Regards

Jeff

[FatDave]

Hi, It's good to see that you're making the most of your situation.

 

The first thing I would say is as you like reading, get yourself a copy of On Writing by Steven King. It's a great insight into his methods, but don't take it as gospel (at one point he says that you should write 2k words each day, then in three months you'll have a novel... That's not an oversimplification, but almost a quote. If only it were that easy Stevie.)

 

I went on a one day creative writing class run by a forum member, selliot (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=748957) and it was fantastic. So many excersizes to get the creative juices flowing (note to self, should I write a dictionary of cliches?) and a great way to measure your progress as it's for all levels.

 

I would advise you to contact her and find out when the next class is. I'll see you there.

[Ian Rivedon]

Hello Jeff,

 

It's almost nine and time for Apprentice, but I made the mistake (?) of checking SWG and reading your post. I say mistake, but I was captivated within the first few sentences. Jeff, you are already a writer! Your post was attention-grabbing from start to finish. The majority of humanity is unable to achieve that.

 

Forgive me for saying this, but I detect just a little low self esteem, which is unsurprising, really, when one consider's what you have experienced recently. However, I would not worry if I were you. Hallam university, in common with all UK universities has been deluged with applicants this year because of the student finance increases next year. Many young people with three not so good A-levels are going to be disappointed in August because the applicants outnumber places by streets. Having said that, I have managed to get accepted myself at the University of Hertfordshire (where I now live), and expect to start in September, reading English and Creative Writing.

 

Fortunately, I have some Open University courses under my belt, but these are largely technical, and irrelevant to a humanities subject. I have been accepted based upon my success with just one OU course (AA100 - Arts, Past and Present). I also had an interview at the university, at which I revealed that I had written a novel, and had submitted it for publication. They seemed very impressed by this, despite it being rejected by the literary agent. All I need to do now is achieve a reasonably average mark in my final AA100 exam, and I will be there.

 

I am really looking forward to it, even though it is going to be a financial struggle. My wife, too, is working her butt off to keep us going, but she is 100% supportive. God, where would we be without them?

 

I can't write much more, because Apprentice has just started, and it is the only reality TV that I watch. What I will say though, in closing (pending further posts) is just start to write every day. Write whatever comes into your head. Write everything down on scraps of paper, or ideally, a notebook, and keep it safe. Every idea that comes into your head—write it down. Any odd conversation that you hear on the bus or the train, write it down. I was once in the job centre, and two young guys seated next to me were discussing, which hurt most, being hit by a whole house brick or just half of one? That is the sort of thing that you cannot dream up, and needs to be written down in your notebook for future reference.

 

The main thing is, write, write, write and write even more. Hone your writing skills, learning the rules of grammar and spelling as you go. Nobody is going to tear you to pieces if you make mistakes, they'll just suggest the correct way of doing it. Be prepared to accept constructive criticism and advice, and in a year you'll be able to consider yourself a writer. At the same time, enrol on a course as advised by Hallam, and then in 2012 you'll also become an academic.

 

I'm going to watch Apprentice. So, from now on, raise your head up, and say to people who ask what you do for a living, 'I'm a writer!'.

 

IR

[Lady Agatha]

Hiya Jeff

 

I can't add much towards what's already been said - just my encouragement. I have also done a couple of short Open University courses. I did their Start Writing Fiction course a couple of years ago which I think cost a couple of hundred pounds, but I got a discount with Tesco clubcard vouchers. I don't know if they still do this as I shop elsewhere now, but might be worth checking if you do your weekly shop at Tesco. This was very encouraging as you got to share your work with others and get constructive criticism from the tutor. But I must say I've got nearly as much out of posting short stories on here for the monthly competitions. I also used to read a magazine called Mslexia, aimed at women writers but their do have writing exercises which are useful and I think you can also find these on their website for free. I'm sure other magazines are available - and how to write style books in the library.

I totally agree with Ian about just writing - write anything! I keep all sorts of journals, including a book journal where I explore why I liked or didn't like a book - this helps me to see what I should be putting in my own writing as you should always write about what you enjoy. If you don't enjoy writing it, odds on no-one will enjoy reading it. Keep a notebook with you at all times and if something interests you, write it down, do some exercises around it and see where it takes you.

Best of luck, I hope to see your fiction on here sometime soon!

Lady A

[jojothecool]

In regards to your back pain, I lived with severe back pain for years, thinking that it could never be solved (went to countless doctors, chiropracteurs, osteopaths, etc). Then eventually my dad convinced me to go and see Paul Benson, an osteopath in Nottinghamshire. He is AMAZING! He SOLVED my back problem in 40 minutes and charged me £40. I am grateful every day as Iam pain free. I now control my back with yoga which works MIRACLES. (0115 937 2343) If he can't help you, he'll say so.

My advice would be not to live with it if you can do anything to make it better