Different creative perspectives!<\/p>\n
When I teach my creative writing classes, I encourage writers to delve deep into their life experiences as inspiration or background for their work, because doing so makes them unique \u2013 there is only one of you! It\u2019s the same for readers too. Only you have had your exact experiences, led the life you have \u2013 so when you read, you read from a unique perspective, and that informs the way you interpret the written word.<\/p>\n
Midnight Sun weren\u2019t the only publishers interested in Into Tordon<\/a><\/em>, so I got to speak to two editors with differing perspectives on how best to publish the story and why they liked it.<\/p>\n Different professional perspectives!<\/p>\n But perhaps there\u2019s a different perspective?<\/p>\n That overseas trip was also saturated with delights I will never forget. My children have had many wins and beautiful experiences throughout the year. With my health scare, everything\u2019s now completely fine! And when I had a birthday this May, I felt so immensely appreciated by others I sobbed with joy \u2013 I even had a story written especially for me<\/a>! I also won a hat trick<\/a> of writing competitions, was in the newspaper<\/a> and on the radio<\/a>.<\/p>\n So I\u2019ve had just as many ups this year as downs\u2026 Why then am I so eager to be rid of 2015? Perhaps I shouldn\u2019t be\u2026<\/p>\n It\u2019s all about perspective!<\/p>\n![\"zena](\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/zena-shapter-scary-hallways-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>The same happens with readers of my own writing \u2013 what doesn\u2019t suit one reader, another loves. Sometimes a story might have been out on submission for months, then all of a sudden multiple first readers and\/or editors realise they love the same story! This happened with Into Tordon<\/a><\/em>, an emotionally-charged adventure book I\u2019ve co-authored for the teen fiction market. It will be published in 2017 through Midnight Sun \u2013 how exciting!<\/p>\n![\"Zena](\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Zena-Shapter-Gingerbread-Meme-for-Blog-249x300.jpg\")
<\/a>This year has also been a financial rollercoaster for me. There was an expensive overseas trip fraught with challenges. My two young children had some awful experiences at school throughout the year too. I\u2019ve had a serious health scare, felt very unappreciated at times, and have had so many other low moments I was eager to be rid of 2015… when I started writing this post.<\/p>\n
![\"Zena](\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Zena-Shapter-Cookies-Meme-for-Blog-300x203.jpg\")
<\/a>It\u2019s easy to sum up a year with a generalised snub or meh, but all a year really does is prepare us for the next. I don\u2019t know about you, but with every year I grow and learn, build or rebuild. If things stayed the same, I\u2019d never get anywhere. So I plan to look back at 2015 not with a superficial emotional assessment, but by giving it a name \u2013 one that validates my experiences for the year and gives meaning to them.<\/p>\n