Springtime with Isabel Allende

Spring flowers in my flat - Philippa

Welcome, spring! The light is returning, the days are getting longer, the birdsong is brilliant, the snowdrops, crocuses and primroses are out. The season of renewal, new life, new hope … and we need plenty of that in these very troubling and turbulent times.

Are you doing anything new this spring to help your writing journey? I’ve been looking at some of the online courses on offer out there. You have to be discerning, and work out what is practicable and affordable – always check the reviews to see if something is worth your time and money – but it’s a potentially good resource for a budding writer.

After some research, I’ve decided to sign up for the BBC Maestro courses – the discounted offer was £72 for the year, which gives me access to a whole suite of courses on a diverse range of subjects, including creative writing, which of course is my main interest. The course I am currently doing is Isabel Allende’s one on Magical Storytelling. Allende is an American-Chilean writer. When she was working as a journalist, she had to flee her beloved Chile after General Pinochet’s fascist coup in 1973. Her first novel The House of the Spirits became an international bestseller when it was published in 1982. It’s worth noting that a lot of Latin American publishers turned this famous novel down before a publisher in Buenos Aires took it on. I must confess I’ve never read it (to my shame!) but I’ve read some of Isabel Allende’s other work, including her moving biographical account of her daughter’s death, Paula. I’ve now borrowed her latest novel, The Wind Knows My Name, from my local library, and one of my aims in the next few months is to read more books by her. A strong feature of her work is magical realism, which originated in Latin America and is a genre which mixes realism with fantastical or magical elements.

I am enjoying Isabel Allende’s presentation - she has a warm and engaging personality, and I really like her insights. There's homework to do, of course, and the first practical writing exercise inspired me. I have twenty more hours to do.

As spring gets under way, I pray for you, my fellow ACW writers, that you will be guided by the Holy Spirit to explore new paths, new discoveries, fresh sources of inspiration and renewal.

I work for the United Reformed Church at URC Church House in London. I’m also an Anglican lay minister. I wrote a devotional for the anthology Light for the Writer’s Soul, published by Media Associates International, and my short story ‘Magnificat’ appears in the ACW anthology Merry Christmas Everyone.