I first began to realize how writers think when I read a book from a long ago titled, Parting the Curtains: Interviews With Southern Writers by Dannye Powell. I was probably in my early 30s at the time. From what I remember, the author had interviewed many writers from the south, some that I was familiar with, and wrote a book about them. It was a memorable book for me. It was while reading this book, I realized, authors are just people.They just have so much to say and very unique individual ways of saying it.
After reading the book, I went to college to become a teacher. I was 35 when I entered college, and 40 when I graduated. I am from the, “It is never too late” sorority. I taught school for 17 years. All the while, I was longing for the freedom I could feel as a writer. I began to dabble around with writing a novel. Bits and pieces would come to me over the years until I began to get more serious about it. Finally, I took a writer’s workshop. I had to travel from the upstate of South Carolina to Clarksville, TN, where Bren McClain would be teaching a group of us how to do this magical thing that authors do. I left the workshop inspired, and did manage to get the first draft done! I taught another year after that, but all I really wanted to do was write!
It was just after COVID had hit, and teaching had become so tiring. The students were tired, the teachers were burned out, and the administration was counting down days to their own retirement. There was no time to really work on my writing while teaching. I was also suffering from poor health and needed time to heal, soI took a year off. This gave me time to follow my dream.
Writers don’t always make lots of money. It is a sad fact but some of us are paying to write when you consider the cost of having a home office. The business end of writing is complex. As a writer with very little in the way of a portfolio, I joined a writers guild. Through the guild, I learned about Anderson Magazine, and began to write monthly features for them. I also started my own blog. I wanted to gain experience and figure out the whole digital world. I learned by watching youtube videos and getting up to speed on wordpress at first, then I found Substack and it was so much easier and a great place to keep your articles.
In the last three years I have published 24 articles in Anderson Magazine,https://franklincountymagazine.com/author/mary-spearman/page/3/. and 39 articles on my own substack https://livingsouthernblog.substack.com/. While each of these articles were fun to write, none are perfectly written, they are just my thoughts and experiences. When I feel inspired, I try to create something worth reading.
In the last six months or so, I have really gotten into writing children’s books. I have learned so much online about illustrations using Canva, and I am even taking the Julia Donaldson class on the BBC Maestro site. So far I have written and self published three children’s books. They can be found on my author’s site on Amazon
Writing children’s picture books is so different, and in some ways more creative than turning out an article. Especially if you are the one doing the illustrations. You have to think about every part of the story, the complexity of the story, and the visualization of the story. All while keeping a story arch and a subject matter that will interest and entertain children. It isn’t easy at all, but it is so much fun. When I see my finished book arrive in the mail, it feels great. I had my first author’s signing event at a local independent bookstore and it felt wonderful to have people actually buy the books.
One of my book’s, Baby Dolphin Build’s a Sandcastle, was a concept that I wrote in college when my son was small. I had used it many times over the years to inspire my classes to write their own stories. They seemed to enjoy the book and were always amazed that I was the writer of it. My second book was a poem that I wrote in a workshop. I wanted to write something about first responders being heroes. Hero Style! was created from this desire to teach children about everyday heroes. My last one, How Mema Milked Her Cow, was a true to life event that happened to me when I was a little girl. I was sharing this verbally with a young nephew and I decided I had to write it down. Ideas for children’s stories come to me often. I currently have three more on the back burner, just waiting to get out. (Good Morning Sunshine may be out before this article is released.) So for now, I am slowing down the articles and focusing on the children’s books.
Publishing children’s books becomes more of a business at times. It is difficult to get big publishers to notice you. Knowing how hard it can be, I decided I didn’t want to wait to get my books out, and I went ahead, and with the help of my husband we started a publishing company. This created a whole new learning opportunity as well. We have learned so much about setting it up and creating my brand, Red Clay Books. Having his support has been a game changer in the process of writing.
Our writer’s guild has a wonderful poetry group. We encourage each other to write poems to prompts given out each month. I had written quite a few poems and decided to bind them as one of my books on Amazon. The book In the Shadows and Through the Window is a group of inspired poems. Many of them were based on the prompts we were given in group, but some are just poems that came to me. One was even a dream that I had, and had to write it down. You never know where inspiration will come from. It can hit you at the oddest times. My poetry book is for anyone who likes to read poems.
I read lots of books. And, I follow many writers on social media. Tonight I was reading an article in the Washington Post about one of my favorite authors, Adriani Trigiani. In the interview she says, “Let me just tell you how my life works, and how my mind works,” then it hit me. I have to write about how and why I write. The reason behind this article. I have always loved Adriani Trigiani because she does this in her podcast. She interviews many writers and she often talks about how they get their ideas. Her podcast is one of the most educational for any writer to watch. She is also a best selling author, and I have enjoyed a few of her books!
My ideas come from all over. From teaching, to reading, to watching something on TV, but mostly from people. I get my thoughts and story ideas from connections made to others, like making up a story with a child. Or wanting to make children think about how things used to be before all this technology took over the world. Sometimes, even in the midst of reading an interview or article, I may even be inspired to write about, what inspires me to write about, all that I have written about. Which really isn’t that much, so stay tuned because I plan on continuing to put words on paper, or at the very least, somewhere on the computer.
https://www.bbcmaestro.com great site for courses on writing! Worth the subscription!
https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaTrigiani/videos. Adriana’s videos are so entertaining and informative.
Foothills Writer’s Guild meets the Third Thursday each month at the Anderson Arts Center in Anderson, SC. 6:00 pm.
https://redclaybookspublishing.com/.
https://substack.com/home. Most writers have found substack a great hub for writing and making connections with other writers. https://www.youtube.com/@HeatherCashArt. If you are interested in writing and publishing or just want to learn about Canva! Heather Cash is a great resource.