Featured Writer
Sheila Grant
I do not remember a time when I did not read. From an early age I would lose myself in a book oblivious to anything happening around me. In Primary school when the teacher left the room she would stand me in front of the class with the instructions to tell them a story until she returned. Writing was a natural progression from reading and I used to hand write a `newspaper` and sell it to my parents for a halfpenny. Anyone familiar with my writing will know that they were robbed.
When I ran a Wolf Cub Pack, towards the end of the meeting I spun tales, always leaving the boys with a cliff hanger to encourage them to attend every week. It worked and the pack grew to 62 members. I kid myself it was due to my exciting stories.
When my children were small to keep them from flagging on long walks I distracted them by telling them a story. On their encouragement I sent a couple to DC Thomson who immediately accepted one for `Twinkle`. They paid the princely sum of £8.00 for the story with all rights.
Lacking the confidence to respond to an ad for Ayr Writers` club, I signed up for an evening class which proved to be a total waste of time. The tutor opened the class by announcing that he had never written anything in his life. I then did a correspondence course in fiction writing which had a limited benefit. However I received more advice and help when I eventually plucked up the courage to join Ayr Writers` club. My goal was to be a writer of children's fiction but in keeping with club ethos I attended the workshops in all genres and fairly quickly saw my first non-fiction article published. No one can describe the thrill of that first sight of your own by-line. In the heady days of the Evening Times First Person column I frequently had two pieces published in a week. The first one, a light hearted look at slimming was also taken up by `Yes` magazine. Since then I have had factual, travel, and humorous articles published in newspapers and magazines including the Evening Times, The Herald, Sunday Herald, My Weekly, The Lady, and Leopard. I have even reached the heady heights of the Kilmarnock Standard! I particularily enjoy writing Scottish articles even when the research can take longer than the writing. My bookaholic tendencies have been put to good use reviewing for new Booksmag and several on line review pages. For several years I was a judge in the first stages of the Foster Grant Romantic Novel of the Year Award. With all these books how fortuitous that I married a man who could build bookshelves!
I have a passion for theatre and when I lived on Speyside I wrote and produced an annual concert which included many of my sketches and short plays. I have also written and performed `Talking Heads` pieces.
I cannot stress strongly enough that my continuing success in writing is due to the help, support, advice and encouragement every member receives from Ayr Writer’s Club. I compiled a brief history of the club during my year as president and was delighted to be asked to deliver it to various clubs and societies.
It has been an interesting and enjoyable journey from that first badly presented, single spaced tippexed story.