Writing for Pleasure

Today I placed a copy of Aquila, the national children’s magazine, in front of my granddaughter and watched as she turned to page 24. I hoped she remembered how this story came to be written, because there is an important lesson in it: About a year ago, she sent me the first draft of a story that she hoped to submit for the BBC’s ‘500 Words’ competition. We did some joint editing, during the course of which, we talked about the starting point of any story: that time where you find yourself staring at a blank page and hoping that ‘something will turn up’. I told her that I often snatch a few random words out of the air and see what they suggest. At that moment, a bird flew past the window, so I wrote down, ‘bird’; then the sun glinted off my wedding ring, so I wrote down, ‘golden’. Finally, I passed the lounge where the TV quiz show, ‘Pointless’ was on and I remembered that one of the answers to any question about countries guaranteed to score nil points was, ‘Tuvalu’. Now, I had my title, ‘The Golden Bird of Tuvalu’. That evening, I produced the short story and shared it with my granddaughter. Fast Forward three months … I had finished ‘Pevensey the Pirate King’, the fourth book in The Megan Waterfield Series and decided to leave my Fearless Five sailing happily on the River Severn and branch out in a new direction. In fact, it would be more accurate to say two directions: completing my novel about the English Civil War, The Chariot of the Sun, and secondly, to compile an anthology of short stories for children. The latter is called Mrs Murgatroyd’s Marvellous Magicarium and is a collection of stories told by the mysterious Mrs Murgatroyd. I completed the introduction easily enough, and then experienced a blank page moment. Enter, The Golden Bird of Tuvalu, Mark II … After a complete rewrite, which increased the word count from 500 to 1500 words, I was satisfied that it was worthy of taking its place in the collection. The book is not yet complete, as I have focused all of my energies on The Chariot of the Sun, but … Enter The Golden Bird of Tuvalu Mark III The national children’s magazine, Aquila, showed interest in the story, but set a word limit of 1000 words, so after another rewrite, it was accepted for publication in February’s edition. It fits in nicely with their theme, Money Maths.

The lesson? “Nothing is ever finished and done with in this world. You may think a seed was finished and done with when it falls like a dead thing into the earth; but when it puts forth leaves and flowers next spring you see your mistake.” ― Elizabeth Goudge

Truly, this was writing for pleasure! NB In their own words, ‘AQUILA Magazine is the ultimate intelligent read for inquisitive kids. Full of exuberant articles and challenging puzzles that will get the whole family involved, every issue covers science, history and general knowledge. AQUILA is a quality production, beautifully illustrated throughout with contemporary artwork. ● Intelligent reading for 8 – 12 year-olds● Cool science and challenging projects● Exciting new topic every issue’ https://www.aquila.co.uk/