My Writing CV (inspired by Fran Hill)

Fran Hill’s excellent ACW Zoom Session, a couple of weeks ago, contained many inspiring nuggets of wisdom for aspiring writers.  One that really got me thinking was the idea of a writer’s CV.

As with any CV, we don’t include every tiny detail of all of our background, training and experience. But jotting down all the things that have made us into the writers we are today is a fascinating place to start and an insight into what has shaped our writing.

Here are some of my early moments of inspiration that spring to mind:

1985: I impressed my Year 1 teacher, at 6 years old, by putting my hand up and spelling out for her the real name of Mr Watzisname in the Faraway Tree series, which I had already read from cover to cover several times (It was Kollamoolitumarellipawkyrollo, if you were wondering – don’t think I could still perform such a feat now). Spelling was going to be my thing, right from the start!

1989: I presented my Year 4 teacher with an illustrated volume of handwritten poems, to complement our science unit (well let’s face it, English is far more exciting than science). It contained such eloquent rhymes as: “Rocks in the garden, rocks in the sand, some rocks are sharp and can cut your hand.” What unfiltered talent.

1991: To accompany my school report, my Year 6 teacher wrote a poem to summarise her experience of teaching me as she felt it appropriate, given my poetic leaning.  I glowed. My father replied in rhyme, himself.

1994: I wrote a sonnet for English homework, in perfect iambic pentameter and rhyme.  I memorised the high praise of my teacher and can still quote it to this day.

1995: My English teacher invited me to go with her to a local poetry festival (can you imagine that, these days?!).  I accompanied her, loving every minute and felt all the more inspired to write my own poetry.

Also 1995: I had braces fitted on my teeth.  I wrote a poem about the experience, which made my Mum cry. “Tick. Tock.  The second hand rounded the clock for the sixtieth time.  It was over.  A warm tear trickles…” (I always had a slight leaning towards melodrama!)

2005: I used the aforementioned sonnet in an A-Level English lesson that I was teaching, to illustrate the sonnet form.  I reveled in the amazement of my students as I revealed its authorship.  Nothing narcissistic there at all!

I could go on, but you get the idea.  By the time I have sifted back through the timeline of my life and eventually arrived at some sensible things I could actually include on a CV, I have more of a sense of who I am as a writer, where I have come from and what has influenced me.

As we gather together scraps of paper and remembered-moments from our writing past, even those of us who don’t feel we have much experience or many accolades to shout about will, I’m sure, be encouraged and realise we have more to add to our CV than we might initially think.

I might, for example, include my joining of the ACW, applying to write on the More Than Writers blog, nervously attending my first writers’ day.  I might write about minor achievements, like having a ‘Thought for the Week’ published, quarterly, in my local paper, or bigger ones, like writing for the well-known 40-Acts initiative. Or the curve ball of the freelance writing I did this year, writing phonics books for a new phonics series.

Whatever I choose to make public and whatever I choose to keep to myself as a background influence or inspiration, one thing is for sure.  Fran Hill is right – we should absolutely not despise the day of small things,” (Zechariah 4 v 10). In the New Living Translation, the question is asked, “For who dares make light of small beginnings?” Then a truth is delivered that should keep us all encouraged in our writing endeavours, however small: “...These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.” He is the God who sees -   scribbles, deletions and bursts of inspiration; crushing insecurities and glorious moments of confidence; our past, present and future as writers.

Keep writing, fellow writers and smarten up those CVs.  Nothing you do, in God’s eyes, will ever be too insignificant to count.

Georgie Tennant is a secondary school English teacher in a Norfolk Comprehensive.  She is married, with two sons, aged 12 and 9 who keep her exceptionally busy. She writes for the ACW ‘Christian Writer’ magazine occasionally, and is a contributor to the ACW-Published ‘New Life: Reflections for Lent,’ and ‘Merry Christmas, Everyone,’ and, more recently, has contributed to a phonics series, out later this year. She writes the ‘Thought for the Week’ for the local newspaper from time to time and also muses about life and loss on her blog: www.somepoemsbygeorgie.blogspot.co.uk