I wrote a book - Why I don't talk about it
People are shocked when they know me for months, sometimes years and they suddenly find out that I not only wrote and published a book but I was also published in multiple anthologies prior to my own book. So why don't I talk about it more often and do I have plans for any writing in the future?
11/15/20233 min read
I don't talk about my writing career often, frankly because its an odd thing to bring up in casual conversation. What a lot of people don't know about me is I am actually very passionate about reading and writing. I always saw creative writing as a form of escape and I knew how to write creatively quickly.
In Year 6, I had a teacher who really helped me develop this passion. He taught us creative writing and when he set the other kids to write a short story, he'd challenge me to write 2 chapters. Whilst the other kids wrote a simple story with a beginning, middle and end, he would set me the task of continuing this book because he knew he could push me further than just a short story with a brief like he set the other kids. He took this to another level when he took over our reading class. He handed the other kids The Twits by Rohld Dahl and then out of his bag came Emma by Jane Austen which he handed over to 10 year old me as he knew The Twits wouldn't push me enough. To this day, Emma is still one of my favourite books.
After this teacher left, another wonderful teacher took over, saw my love for writing and proceeded to enter my work into a local writing competition, of which I became one of the winners. That was my first of many writing competitions, becoming a national finalist twice at 14 and having my writing and poetry published in anthologies along with other commended young writers.
At 17, I signed onto the EPQ programme at my sixth form and decided to use my writing to my advantage. I said, "I'm going to write an educational book for 8-11 year olds teaching them about Dementia". I knew I could creative write, but educational write for KS2? That was new and it excited me. Thus, "A Kid's Guide to Dementia" was born. I handed over my copy to a local Dementia charity who took it under their wing, got funding from the council for it to be properly printed. To this day, the book is on sale with all the funds going directly into helping my local Dementia community. I remember when I found out that DementiaUK had recommended my book, I was so happy my writing was doing something positive. Never did I think my writing could actually help someone and knowing that DementiaUK see it as valuable enough to recommend means the world to me.
I kind of put the book behind me at that point, and when I started up at University, I lost the motivation to write, something made the thrill of it go. I didn't write for around 4 years. Then, when stuck on a plane for 14 hours with no wifi (thanks KoreanAir), I was at a complete loss as to what to do and found myself writing again. I started writing a love story, not the usual kind of story I write considering my best work as a teen was all about robots and rebellion and poltergeists, but it felt thrilling. I started catching the bug again.
Am I entirely back into creative writing again? To be honest, no. Its difficult getting back into it after 4 years, it certainly is not like riding a bike but knowing I was still able to find joy in a passion I used to have made me so happy. I think this is another reason why I don't talk about my writing, even writing this feels like I'm stepping back into a little unknown so it isn't like me talking about one of my current passions. Just because I had a skill for it as a kid doesn't mean I'm any good now and I think by not talking about it, I'm protecting myself from the idea of being a bad writer! I'll work on getting over this though.
When people find out about Kid's Guide, they ask me if I have any plans to write another book and the answer is... I don't know! Would I write another educational book, probably not. I was lucky to be surrounded with people very educated in Dementia when I wrote Kid's Guide and I don't feel qualified to attempt another medical topic without proper education. However, a fiction book? I'd love to but right now time is not on my side. Maybe a passion project for another day.
If you are at all curious about what 17/18 year old Tegan's writing was like or if you know anyone who you think could benefit from the book, you can find a link to Kid's Guide below. Once again, all money goes directly to helping those affected by Dementia and your support would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.adscharity.com/a-kids-guide-to-dementia-an-ads-book