Photo: Lucy Gray
AUTHOR BIO
LB GRAY is the daughter of a GI bride and spent much of her early life in the American South. She now lives in the South of England and draws on her experience of both cultures in her writing. Her study of psychology at university informs her writing, as does her subsequent career practising as a counsellor and lecturer in the subject.
Despite an enjoyment of writing at school, nearly 60 years passed before she attempted to re-awaken this pleasure by joining a writing group. She has had two short stories published, and ‘WAITING FOR THE ALL CLEAR’ is her first novel.
LATE BLOOMING AUTHORS -SOME THOUGHTS
Waiting for the All Clear was published on February 15, 2023. My seventy-sixth birthday.
I’ve read (see leilanistewart.com, sharonzink.com) that of every 1000 people who start to write a novel, 30 finish it, and 6 see it in print. *
The statistic that only about 3% of starters turn into finishers was sufficiently staggering to stop me in my tracks. In fact, if I’d seen it before I began the novel, I might have given up before I’d written the first word.
I wonder if I’m part of an even smaller group of authors who have had a first novel published post-retirement. For example, Mary Wesley has been an inspiration for me, but although there are biographies around, I haven’t found very many personal accounts and advice specifically for writers in this group. So here are some of the high- (and low-) lights of my experience. I’d love to hear about others.
Elizabeth Wheeler (b. 1947) describes her journey into post-retirement writing, starting with a vivid recollection of ‘the day I became invisible.’* The eyes of others slid past her as she walked into a coffee shop one day near retirement, dressed in jeans and T-shirt, as opposed to her pre-retirement ‘uniform’ of smart professional wear. Fuelled by anger, she used this incident as a jumping off point to develop a new identity as a writer.
I read this and remembered sitting in a leisure centre on grandparent duty, watching mayhem in the ball pit. No other grandparents obvious, so I joined the watching group. Polite smiles and hellos, then my superpower kicked in and, like Elizabeth, I became invisible. Conversation swirled around me. Unlike Elizabeth, I didn’t feel angry. Just lost.
Now, I’ve stopped grizzling to myself about re-writes, umpteen proofreads, and (especially) being nudged into the alien world of building a website. Instead, I try to embrace the range of tasks and activities that I discover daily belong to the part of me that is a writer. For me, getting published and making money from writing at my stage of life doesn’t have the urgency it might have had when I was younger, so I can immerse myself in the process.
Moving away from the psychology of it all, Elizabeth’s blog also features a practical checklist:
5 Signs You Should Consider Writing in Retirement
Have a look!
* https://writingandwellness.com/2021/04/14/is-writing-after-retirement-right-for-you/
* Leilani Stewart also offers a checklist (I like checklists): ‘Can Anyone Write a Novel?’ As the title suggests, the answer is ‘not necessarily, but possibly...’ The reader is invited to undertake some honest reflection on motives and planning with only their laptop to witness any embarrassment.
Reading the list, I certainly winced at a few items:
‘Are you skilled enough as a writer to avoid too many writing cliches, adverbs etc?’ That helps to explain the ruthless editing and proofreading I had to do.
‘Do you understand point of view, plot development and characterisation, and do you know if you are going to write in the past or present tense?’ Taking some creative writing courses and joining a writing group did wonders for me, as did obtaining a copy edit report. I should not have been surprised that the rules of punctuation and grammar have changed since the 1950s-60s, when they were hammered into me at school.
‘Are you disciplined and motivated enough to make time for writing on a regular basis?’ Oh dear, there is a reason it took me six years to write a book!
*Caveat: Although I searched diligently, I couldn’t find any research studies to back up this figure. One website mentions that ‘numerous studies’ have confirmed it, and I’m sure they exist somewhere. A pinch of salt may be required.
Finally...
Before I even started to write a book, I decided to find a way to begin to answer the question:
‘Am I kidding myself?’
I wrote a couple of short stories, which were published in the online magazine Café Lit – and then in its annual ‘Best of...’ print publication. You’ll find the first one I wrote on Cafe Lit Magazine and you can read it here.