Reader Faye, aged eleven, has always loved reading… find out how her passion led her to write books of her own!
Faye says:
I have always been drawn to books; whenever Mum told me it was time to go to the library, my heart would flutter at the thought of getting new books! As a child, my favourite thing was to snuggle up and listen to a bedtime story; later I'd read my own books, watching the plots unfurl in front of me. On birthdays or at Christmas, a book would be all I'd ever ask for. This passion led me to discover Cathy Cassidy and her books - Cherry Crush was the first I read. I'd finish them within days and was inspired by the storylines and how they would be threaded together with expert hands. The characters were all believable and relatable. Pretty soon, I was Cathy Cassidy obsessed!
It was from this love of reading - and how books made me feel - that I fell in love with the idea of being a writer. At eight years old I wrote my first book, a non-fiction based on Moshi Monsters! Once it was published I was earning royalties every month which was incredible! I knew that my next project would be a fiction, aimed at teenage girls. In 2012 I started writing a book called The Friendship Flame, first in a series called the Charm Bracelet Girls. It is still in the writing process today. The book follows the story of fourteen year old Kendal whose parents are divorcing. Kendal has been sucked into the 'popular' group, where she is forced to do things she feels uncomfortable with. Only when she meets shy and geeky Clare does she see her 'friends' for who they really are. The book comes from my own experience of seeing my parents split up, and the struggles I've been through trying to fit in.
The Friendship Flame has a word count of 70,000 and has been a rollercoaster of a journey. Having to juggle a social life, homework tasks, 'me' time and writing a book is not easy! There are times when writer's block comes in, too, and you simply cannot get your thoughts down on paper, leading to frustration and self doubt.
Despite this, writing a book has been the most rewarding challenge. It's complex to juggle everything at once, but when the book has been sent off to print and you can actually hold it as a physical object in your hands, your words being read by people all over the world, the feeling of triumph and pride is overwhelming. Writing books can be an addiction, and certainly not a bad one! It's not an easy process but there is light at the end of the tunnel, whether you are eight or eighty. Your dreams are just within reach, and it's up to you to greet all opportunities that come your way with open arms!
Find out more about Faye's books here: www.fayepaige.co
Cathy says:
Wow… I am SO impressed… there is no way I could have written 70,000 words at that age! Could YOU ever write a book? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!
I have always been drawn to books; whenever Mum told me it was time to go to the library, my heart would flutter at the thought of getting new books! As a child, my favourite thing was to snuggle up and listen to a bedtime story; later I'd read my own books, watching the plots unfurl in front of me. On birthdays or at Christmas, a book would be all I'd ever ask for. This passion led me to discover Cathy Cassidy and her books - Cherry Crush was the first I read. I'd finish them within days and was inspired by the storylines and how they would be threaded together with expert hands. The characters were all believable and relatable. Pretty soon, I was Cathy Cassidy obsessed!
Despite this, writing a book has been the most rewarding challenge. It's complex to juggle everything at once, but when the book has been sent off to print and you can actually hold it as a physical object in your hands, your words being read by people all over the world, the feeling of triumph and pride is overwhelming. Writing books can be an addiction, and certainly not a bad one! It's not an easy process but there is light at the end of the tunnel, whether you are eight or eighty. Your dreams are just within reach, and it's up to you to greet all opportunities that come your way with open arms!
Find out more about Faye's books here: www.fayepaige.co
Cathy says:
Wow… I am SO impressed… there is no way I could have written 70,000 words at that age! Could YOU ever write a book? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!
OH MY GOD!!!!! this is like my story!! my parents have read to me every night, and have been doing it for years!! that's what trigged my love for writing! I absolutely love it. And totally get Faye's story. writing is a part of who I am. and I am a huge fan of Cathy's books as well, I have been reading them for 5 years, over and over. they are really inspiring to me! what a beautiful writer you are Faye, you have a lovely way of writing!
ReplyDeleteMistake to point out in paragraph that begins with 'The Friendship Flame has a . . .'
ReplyDelete'and writing a book 'i's not easy' not 'u's not easy'
This post is quite inspirational to me, because it shows that children can become authors and I badly want to become an author because I love books!
sorted, thank you! xxx
DeleteThat is really impressive! I have just turned twelve and am in the middle of writing a story as well - a children's mystery because I really suck at friendship stuff. But I enjoy reading them.
ReplyDeleteWhen THE FRIENDSHIP FLAME is finished I really hope to read it as it sounds cool and interesting. Good luck writing!
It says "us not easy" instead of 'is not easy'. Simple mistake to make!
ReplyDeleteI WISH I could write a book! It's something I've been thinking about a lot recently but realistically, I know I couldn't. The main reason being a lack of motivation and creativity. Can't write a book if I've got nothing to write about! I feel like Esther in The Bell Jar, like I haven't had enough life experience to write realistically. From a logical point of view, I have had quite a bit of life experience but I don't feel I can translate that into my writing. Plus, throughout every English lesson from age 6 to 16, I've been told off for writing too much. I'm a rambler, you know this! I had to stay up till 3am editing my Higher creative writing folio piece because I was 650 words over the limit. Now I fight to reach word limits on essays because I've been taught that verbosity is bad and I have to cut out adjectives and fillers and all the things I used to use. God knows how I'd manage 70 000 words! I have so much respect for Faye for managing that Herculean task - I still haven't written more than a sentence in my picture book. Some people, like Faye and yourself are born to write and then there's people like me, destined to be readers.
typo sorted, thanks Blue! xxx
DeleteI've written a book actually! It took about a year and a half. I've sent it to two agents, but no luck so far. ~ Méabh
ReplyDeleteI love writing!
ReplyDeleteI guess I started loving it at age 8 really, after reading so much as a child. I've had poems published and I've got into competitions but, thing is, I don't think of writing as competition. My main aim is to have people saying good stuff about it.
But when people read my short story- Girl On The Run- they ask where the idea came from. I know that this story can be interpreted in loads of different ways so I tell them; 'I thought of the name Alison.' It was really hard to think of...
Xxx
i write poetry, and I'm hoping to get some published soon. its my love to write and i will never let it go.
DeleteI really wanted to be a writer but I dont have time to write any more, I'm 11 too and there is too much going on! I fo roller skating as well and currently practicing for a comp!
ReplyDeleteI try and write as often as I can, which sometimes means I can spend days on end writing, or days on end not writing anything at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently writing a novel called 'The Silent Stars Go By' about my two years at college. It's semi-autobiographical, so a lot of the events actually happened, and it can be a challenge to change things so that the novel flows, and I'm having the meld the two years into one as I don't particularly want to write a sequel. The intertwining of the storylines is also important, and are one of the reasons I get such bad writers block, because I can't type up all of the loose ends. Sometimes the characters bug me; the main character especially, because at the beginning she's lost in her own world and won't accept any kind of help from anyone else.
I usually write around 7,000 words a day. I know it sounds a lot, but I type quite fast, and when I start writing, all of the ideas just seem to flow. It can take me around 2 hours to write this amount of words, depending on whether or not my writers block hits.
In between writing the novel, I write short stories and paragraphs. I've also written a trio of novelettes exploring the viewpoints of different characters.
I would love to be an author for a full time career, but I would need a job in the between time to make sure I got out of the house and didn't become attached to my laptop!