Guest Feature – Liz Martinson – Patricia M Osborne

I’m delighted today to feature Author, Liz Martinson, who has come along to ‘Patricia’s Pen‘ to tell you about ‘Why she Writes.’ Without further ado, it’s over to Liz.

Why I Write

Liz Martinson

I’ve always loved reading stories. I used to love playing games of pretend when I was small. I think those games of pretend went from being imaginary to being written, first to entertain myself, then later, to entertain my school friends on the bus, on the way home, when I handed round a daily chapter of trash, loosely based on the spy television series popular in the 1960s.

As well, I think as a teenager, I explored the concept of love, often as crushes, and writing helped me make sense of the world and my emotions.

Throughout school, free writing was my preferred lesson. It filled me with pure delight to be told I could write a story about anything, and I was off. This eventually led to longer and longer pieces of work until I found I could create novels.

Not only that, but they weren’t too bad, and when handed round to friends, which I now understand is the equivalent of beta readers, my friends also thought they weren’t too bad.

It was extremely hard work and involved multiple re-reads to check for errors and plot problems, before formatting, checking everything again, publishing and finally promoting.

I love creating stories and finding background materials from my own experiences of the outdoors. I’ve sometimes gone back to one of my books and recognised interactions between characters as ones I’ve observed and apparently remembered. My husband has certainly complained he recognises characteristics of the heroes, but who else do I take as my role model? Why create a new hero when you have one ready to hand?

One thing I should emphasise for anyone thinking about writing a novel themselves (and I hope you do). Once written, I know for definite my novel isn’t finished. Not by a long, long way. Writing is work, hard work, at that. It needs leaving for a few weeks before re-reading, to ensure the plot runs smoothly and the characters are right. Once written, it needs editing, not once, or even twice, but multiple times. It’s amazing how misspelled words, extra words, missing punctuation and typing errors creep in and lurk.

To be honest, these days, everything from a Booker prize winner and traditionally published books, down to a new author’s Indie contribution, usually ends up with a few errors, despite everyone’s hard work.

I’m now with a publisher, Next Chapter, so I no longer have to create covers or format… but I still have to do all the rest!
I hope you try one of my books – and if you do, I’d love a review, even if just one line.
Thanks for reading!

About Liz Martinson

Liz Martinson is an author of several novels, short stories and poetry, who uses research and her own extensive experiences to fuel her writing. With a romantic thread running through all her novels, Liz includes life events and adventure to make them page-turning, enjoyable and engrossing. Readers often say they haven’t been able to put them down.
Recently taken on by publisher Next Chapter, Liz has one book, Belonging, out under their label. Ullandale, now revised, is due out within a week, with a new cover.
Her other two, Counterpoint and Takeover, are available as ebooks, and are also being revised and re-issued. Belonging and Ullandale are receiving excellent reviews.
Having taken part in a Creative Writing course at the University of Lancaster, Liz completed it with a Distinction. In the past she has also been a runner-up in the Good Housekeeping Short Story competition, and has had several short stories accepted and published in anthologies.
In her spare time, Liz enjoys a wide range of activities, which include cycling, reading and landscape photography, as well as cooking, music and travel. She has also had extensive experience as a hill-walker and has kayaked on rivers, lakes and sea. Living in the Yorkshire Dales, Liz spends her spare time with her husband and two cats, her twin sons having long flown the nest.