Lordy, how time flies.

August done and gone and I didn't do my weekly blogging. Tut!

I've been teaching in one form or another most of my working life. Beginners are usually fun to teach, but beginning writers are definitely the worst people to teach.

One in ten new writers ranges from diabolically difficult to merely bloody awkward. Everyone learns to write at school so everyone thinks they can write a novel. Ah me!
Baby Beginners who are serious about using writing as an art form, a way of painting marvellous tales with carefully selected words will eventually become real writers but those people are rarely the one in ten.

I do feel sorry for the flagrant exhibitionists who want to be noticed and admired and see their names in the local newspaper. Why they think being a writer will do this for them I don't know. Perhaps they were ignored as children or believe that when they read about J.K. Rowling in the newspaper that they too can be like her. How little they know.

I'm grumbling because I've discovered that LinkedIn is a TakeIn. I'd been persuaded to join because it's a professional networking group. Oh yeah! Try the Authors and Writers group any of you experienced writers. It's full of the writing tutor's nightmare students. I've got my students tuning in to a particularly hilarious and sad couple of threads by a would-be writer who suffers from every newbie 'disease' possible. Sadly she is also rude to people who disagree with her and the lack of any moderator to remind her to respect her fellow writers is noticeable. I hope the other LinkedIn writers' group I've joined is better.