My Writing Life – then and now by Laura Besley

I got the email through a couple of weeks ago to say I’d been accepted as a contributor to 'The Unofficial blog for Brit Writers and writers everywhere' and two things happened: I was hugely excited and my brain shut down. 'I can’t do it, it said. I don’t know what to write!'

Eventually I came up with the idea to write a little about my life as a writer.

Then

I’ve been writing on and off my whole life. I can remember writing a story about a fairground when I was about eight or nine. I can see it so clearly still in front of me; my child-like handwriting, numbering the pages of writing, the pink polka-dot notebook.

I also loved reading. Throughout my childhood and teenage years I could always be found with my nose in a book. This is the reason I decided to study English Literature at university. Although greatly interesting, it was a little like a double-edged sword: I was forced to read (not a chore), but they were often books I didn’t enjoy (very definitely a chore). By the time I’d finished my degree, I wasn’t sure I’d ever enjoy reading again. Luckily for me that sentiment didn’t last long!

In my mid-twenties I started writing again. Often it was exaggerated accounts of things that had happened to me in my life, work or regarding travel. For the first time I started showing my writing to people and despite it being a nerve-wracking experience, it was ultimately extremely helpful.

Now

Two and a half years ago I moved to Hong Kong and that’s where my writing really took off. I joined the Hong Kong Writers Circle, an organisation that runs workshops, events and critique groups. If anyone reading this is not in a critique group, join one! If you can’t find one to join, start one! I cannot express how helpful my fellow critiquers have been to the development of my work.

Currently I also have a blog: Living Loving and Writing and I post book reviews, travel pieces about living in Hong Kong and travelling in Asia, as well as weekly Flash Fiction pieces.  

Laura Besley