JW: Hi Nikki! So, tell us a little about your background as a writer. When did you start writing?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve been a copywriter since 2009 and had articles published in regional magazines, newspapers and trade publications, but I didn\u2019t start trying my hand at creative writing until about five years ago when I decided to write a novel inspired by my Grandad\u2019s life story. Even though I was a writer, it was at that point I realised just how different copywriting is to creative writing and I didn\u2019t really have a clue what I was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the first lockdown in 2020, I was furloughed and took the opportunity to hone my skills in storytelling. I had a four-year-old to entertain in and around the house and was pregnant with my second child at the time, so I started with a free and flexible eight-week course online, Start Writing Fiction<\/em>, through The Open University. It gave me a first look at some of the techniques and skills needed to write fiction – but I knew I had so much more to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I researched online creative writing resources and came across Jericho Writers. Due to lockdown, they were hosting their Festival of Writing online from June until September for the first time, so I signed up. I learnt so much and there was a real sense of community, so I joined the Summer Festival<\/a> in the following year, too, and then became a member<\/a>. The Summer Festivals have helped me transform my creative writing, so much so that I\u2019ve been able to make the opening of my novel strong enough to stand out from over 2,500 entries!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n JW: You were recently shortlisted for the Women\u2019s Prize for Fiction\u2019s Discoveries Competition<\/a> \u2013 for your first creative writing project, no less! What was the process there? Did you know you would be entering the prize before you had finished your work?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the second year the competition has taken place. I was aware of it last year, but wasn\u2019t in a position to submit, so I made a note of this year\u2019s deadline and worked towards it, more for accountability than anything else. The Discoveries competition<\/a> is quite rare as it\u2019s for unpublished women writers who are not required to have finished their novels. And it\u2019s free! <\/p>\n\n\n\n To enter you only need to have written 10,000 words of your opening, which you submit with a synopsis. I knew this was an achievable goal to help me progress my novel and actually wrote quite a bit more before the deadline. If I\u2019m honest, I didn\u2019t expect to get anywhere with it, knowing it was such a big competition and this was my first creative writing project that I\u2019d not let anyone else cast their eyes on! I had no idea if what I\u2019d submitted was any good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also a development programme, not just a competition. Practical support is offered as part of the prize for longlisted and shortlisted entrants, which will be a brilliant help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Summer Festivals have helped me transform my creative writing, so much so that I\u2019ve been able to make the opening of my novel strong enough to stand out from over 2,500 entries!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n JW: How have things been since being shortlisted?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s been such an incredible experience already. I was shocked when I found out I was on the longlist<\/a> of 16 out of over 2500 entries. Then a couple of weeks later I was shortlisted<\/a> down to six, and was named the Discoveries Scholar<\/a> at the end of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, I\u2019ve attended the hugely celebrated Women\u2019s Prize for Fiction event held at Bedford Square Gardens, London, in June. This was amazing. I joined them for an evening of readings by the six shortlisted authors and then the next day for the ceremony, when Ruth Ozeki was announced the winner with her novel The Book of Form and Emptiness<\/em> and gave the most inspiring and touching speech. I was also lucky enough to join an intimate in-person workshop with the wonderful Kate Mosse and JoJo Moyes, who imparted their wisdom on translating novels for screen and theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I\u2019m honest, I didn\u2019t expect to get anywhere with it, knowing it was such a big competition and this was my first creative writing project that I\u2019d not let anyone else cast their eyes on! I had no idea if what I\u2019d submitted was any good.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n As a longlistee, I have just completed a brilliant two-week online Discoveries Writing Development Course held by Curtis Brown Creative (sponsors of the competition). I received such encouraging feedback and guidance from our tutor, author Charlotte Mendelson, as well as the other longlistees, who are an incredible group of talented writers and have already become such a friendly and supportive network to turn to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a shortlistee, I have been invited to attend studio sessions with Audible (another sponsor of the competition). And as the Discoveries Scholar, I have been awarded a place on a three-month Curtis Brown Creative course to help me complete my novel, which I am so excited about!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s all felt quite surreal. Since being shortlisted, I\u2019ve even had literary agents approach me requesting my manuscript!<\/p>\n\n\n\n JW: What kinds of resources shaped your writing to be what it is now?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve signed up to various webinars and listened to podcasts with authors \u2013 I love The Honest Authors<\/a>\u2019 Podcast by Gillian McAllister and Holly Seddon. I\u2019ve also carried out years of research on the topic and themes of my novel. It\u2019s surprising how much my research has shaped my writing, even down to the much smaller storylines. It\u2019s helped me add depth by really being able to \u201cshow\u201d scenes, rather than \u201ctell\u201d so readers hopefully feel transported into the story. I do try not to refer back to research before I write a scene, though, as I have enough understanding and it helps the story come across more naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s all felt quite surreal. Since being shortlisted, I\u2019ve even had literary agents approach me requesting my manuscript!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Jericho Writers’ Summer Festival of Writing<\/a> has been the greatest resource I have relied on. I still refer back to my notes on webinars like Debi Alpers\u2019s expertise on voice and psychic distance and Rebecca Horsfall\u2019s session on ‘Show, Don\u2019t Tell’. I also enjoyed hearing tips from authors like Julie Cohen on plotting, Philippa East on getting a publishing deal, and Cesca Major, whose scene outline template I use religiously! It was exciting to join webinars with literary agents too, like Laura Williams, Liv Maidment and Juliet Mushens, who really helped demystify the steps to getting a novel published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enter as many competitions as you can. If you succeed, they can be a great platform for exposure and endorsement and, if nothing else, they give you a deadline to progress your novel. What have you got to lose?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n JW: Do you have any advice for writers in the middle of their early projects?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As someone who is still in the middle of an early project, I understand how isolating writing can be, especially when you\u2019re putting in so many hours without knowing if what you\u2019re producing is any good or not. I would definitely recommended joining writing groups and communities<\/a> or even just finding one person in a similar position to you for encouragement, feedback and a bit of accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be afraid to put your work out there for critique. It\u2019s daunting, but I have done this since entering the Discoveries competition and it\u2019s been invaluable as well as made me even more excited about completing my novel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally, enter as many competitions as you can. If you succeed, they can be a great platform for exposure and endorsement and, if nothing else, they give you a deadline to progress your novel. What have you got to lose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022_JW_MASTER_FESTIVAL-OF-WRITING-02-1024x871.png\")
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