Most if not all my previous blogs have centred around aspects of life, modern society and living and my ‘take’ on them. For this blog, I’ve turned my attention to something that has happened to me, the outcome and how it is impacting me and my life.
My crest writing journey started with an idea for a story that just wouldn’t go away. It plagued me for almost a month and finally I decided the only way to get rid of it was to write it down.
That was September 2019. When I sat down at my pc and began to type, I had no idea of the avalanche of ideas I would unleash.
Between then and now, many things have happened to change or slow my writing journey. In the process, I have learned it’s not the challenges life throws at you that matter, it’s how you deal with them.
Recently, I made a connection on one of my social media platforms and it resulted in a part-edit of my first novel.
To put it in perspective, I laboured long and hard over my first book. I had never attempted anything like it before. It’s a fair assessment I didn’t know what I was doing. I am, however, very proud of the story I conceived and wrote.
The resulting overview was a very difficult read. The critique was constructively meant. It took a stern talk to self to even sit down to read the critique. It’s even harder not to take it personally.
The hardest lesson was yet to learn; to take heed of the truth behind the critique; to be humble enough to accept the critique and rework the story so as to implement the necessary corrections.
I am therefore putting my planned novella series on hold while I rework my first novel.
Creative writing is an art, not a science. With practice, humility, patience and application I hope to republish my first book (retitled Another Arbour) under my author name Bryony Petersen.
I want to thank Keith Lawson for his diligent editing and dedication to working with me. Keith is based in the south of England and is one half of BadMan Publishing.
You can find out more about Keith and BadMan Publishing in the May issue of The Indie Writers Digest. The forthcoming September issue also features an excerpt from Keith’s novella Cat (as in Burglar).
I am also hoping to persuade Keith to appear as a guest on my autumn podcast series Write Bite. I am very excited to be releasing the series on the creative writing industry and the issues affecting independent creators.
What doesn’t kill most certainly does make you stronger!
Bryony Petersen
17th July 2025