11/27/2017
Stop TyposEnhancing Proofreading with a Helpful App: My Experience as a WriterAs a writer, one of my constant challenges is spotting typos in my work. Fortunately, I recently came across an app that has significantly improved my proofreading process. Being dyslexic, I greatly appreciate any assistance I can get in this regard. In this video, I share how this app has made my life easier, both in my professional and personal endeavors. I invite you to watch the video and share your thoughts by commenting below or on my YouTube channel. Don't forget to hit those all-important like buttons as well! The app I've been using is called Speechify, and it has been a game-changer for me. You can find more about it at their website: https://getspeechify.com/. Additionally, make sure to check out their Facebook page for updates and more information: https://www.facebook.com/getspeechify/. In my quest to improve my proofreading skills, the Speechify app has been a valuable tool. As a writer, I'm always on the lookout for ways to enhance my writing process, and this app has provided much-needed support. I encourage you to explore Speechify and see if it can benefit you as well. Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments section or on my YouTube video. Your feedback is highly appreciated! Note: This video and recommendation are based on my personal experience, and individual results may vary.
9/27/2017
The Inspiration Behind 'Slip'A Short StoryIn 2012, I had an idea for two short stories. However, with my focus on writing my previous novels, it took me five years to finally bring one of them to life.
'Slip' is a poignant tale loosely based on a true story involving my mother and one of her sisters. The idea for 'Slip' had always resided within me, waiting for the right moment to emerge. I vividly remembered a lingering unresolved issue between my mum and her sister, who lived in Canada. Intrigued, I reached out to my mother, seeking to understand what had transpired. During my aunt's last visit, my mother confided in me, expressing apprehension. Like so many of us, years had passed with unsaid words and unaddressed tensions. Prior to her sister's arrival, my mother had composed a heartfelt letter, pouring out her thoughts and feelings, which she promptly sent to Canada. Although my aunt's visit was brief, it left an indelible mark. Our entire family came together, creating cherished memories. My mother, as the eldest, had two younger sisters and a brother, and that day became a treasured memory for me. All our cousins and their children joined the gathering, and joy permeated the atmosphere. Despite the pleasant day, my mother remained unsettled after my aunt's departure. It turned out that the letter had arrived late, and my aunt was unaware of its existence during her visit. The delayed revelation saddened my mother. However, a week later, my auntie called, and they engaged in a heartfelt conversation. They finally expressed sentiments that had remained unspoken since the 1940s. This series of events sparked a profound realization within me. What if my mother's letter had arrived before my aunt's departure? Would she have allotted more time to be with us? Could the day have been even more remarkable? Or what if they had picked up the phone and addressed their issues years ago? These reflections inspired me to write 'Slip,' urging others not to let time slip away without resolution. When my editor returned the final draft, she expressed her desire for a copy once it was published, intending to share it with her own sister. Additionally, I sent a proof copy of 'Slip' to my best friend, and her response deeply touched me. After reading the story, she reached out to her own sister, resolving a small issue that had been weighing on them. That heartfelt connection reaffirmed that I had indeed written a story with soul. 'Slip' will be available in November 2017, carrying with it a message of seizing the present moment and reconciling with loved ones. In this blog update, I express my gratitude to all those who have joined me on this journey, sharing my mother's backstory and finding inspiration within its pages. If 'Slip' resonated with you, I would be delighted to read your thoughts in a review. Thank you for your support and for being a part of this meaningful exploration. The story of 'Slip' is a work of fiction inspired by real-life experiences. Names, places, and events have been altered for narrative purposes. Why I wrote Gut Feeling & why I keep writingDyslexia can be a challenging disability for a creative writer, as the vocabulary in one's mind may not align with spelling abilities. This discrepancy often leads to substituting words on paper, inadvertently diminishing the impact of the writing on the reader. However, with determination and resilience, one can navigate this journey and discover their true potential. At the age of twenty, I found myself exploring various genres and writing styles, delving into erotica poetry and general philosophy. Reflecting on this phase, I now see the natural creative path I was carving for myself. Similar to an artist experimenting with different mediums, I was seeking my unique voice in the realm of writing. Realizing that I needed assistance, I sought help at twenty-four to overcome my spelling challenges. It was during this journey that I also discovered a weakness in my short-term memory, where information would easily slip away. Working with a therapist, I focused on developing my memory skills, going back to the basics to teach myself spelling. During my therapy program, my therapist encouraged me to write a diary as a means to enhance my reading and writing abilities. Reluctant to write diaries, I shared some romantic scenes I had written instead. In response, my therapist suggested building a beginning and an end around one of those scenes. And so, Gut Feeling, my first book, was born. Behind my writing journey lies a powerful "why." A teacher once told my parents that I wouldn't achieve much, and for a long time, I believed that prophecy. However, upon leaving school, I began to embrace the positive encouragement from my parents and grew to believe that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. I write to remember my achievements, the commitment it took, and to defy the limitations others imposed on me. My "why" is simply, why not? Existing as a dyslexic writer exposes one to potential criticism, but my advice to fellow dyslexic writers is to never be embarrassed by your abilities; instead, be proud of them. Never give up and keep teaching yourself, continuously learning and growing. Remember, you are amazing. Dyslexia presents challenges for creative writers, but it also offers opportunities for growth and resilience. Embracing dyslexia and harnessing its unique perspective can lead to remarkable achievements. To all dyslexic writers, hold your abilities with pride, never be discouraged, and keep pursuing your passion. Your journey as a creative writer is truly remarkable.
1/11/2016
My First Radio InterviewWho in their right mind would put me on the radio? Someone who hasn't met me, clearly! namely Tom Cannon from #CroydonRadio However, I behaved myself and was quit professional about the whole thing. We had a nice lighthearted chat about my books, my writing process, and growing up with dyslexia and I didn't swear once. My mum did call to tell me that I said 'Oh God' a few times. I don't remember, but i'll take that over the f-word on local radio. Sorry mum x If you missed the show, don't worry I found their a pod cast :) yay! click the link below and you can listen to me being very professional and not embarrassing my friends and family like I normally do! The show is two hours, so to hear my interview simply fast forward to the last 25minutes of the show and there I am :) enjoy x Life is what you make it....
12/19/2015
Why I un-published 'Gut Feeling'
I left school with the reading age of a elementary school child. I decided to take fate into my own hands and taught myself to read with the aid of a dyslexia specialist and lots of self-help school books, I did this at a ripe age of twenty-five. Part of my process was to practice writing. This is where my book 'Gut Feeling' was born. I originally published my first book 'Gut Feeling' in 2009 for my own self-accomplishment and for friends and family to read. I want to encourage people with dyslexia to write their stories, but, to the best standard possible. So, I decided to un-publish 'Gut Feeling' because it was not a good representation of my current writing ability. My younger self had also not worked with an editor on the basics! There are a few original copies being sold on amazon in paper back. If you would like to read a copy of the original 'Gut Feeling' I would be happy to email you a free ebook copy for your private use. If not, and you buy the version on Amazon today--I'm sure your enjoy it more haha. Life is what you make it.....
6/14/2015
It Is All Foreign To MeIt is very hard to describe to a non-dyslexic how I see the written word, however I think I hit the nail on the head today. My husband and I were travelling, south on the M25. I was staring at the vehicles as they drove passed, and one read FS Contact. At first glance I read FS Connect, then I focused my thoughts and read the word correctly. I set about trying to explain to my husband, that I automatically guessed the word from my memory bank, but once I told myself to actually read the word I decoded it, and read the word correctly. My husband found this very interesting. I sat staring at other vehicles for a while and realized I was still not automatically, registering a lot of the words written on them. I pointed to one lorry with lots of writing on the back. I did not register any of what it said until I told myself to read it, and then I saw the word 'Transport'. I thought, this is a perfect example, and so I pointed the lorry out to my husband. I said "Do you see that grey lorry to the left of us?' He said, "Yes." I said, "I was staring at the back of that lorry but did not read the writing. It's as if it is written in a foreign language." I took a second look and focused my thoughts to read the words and then said, "Oh wait it is a foreign language." We both laughed a lot at this. The only English word on the van was Transport! And it wasn't until I told my self to read that I decoded the other words and realized I could not decode them. Until that point it was all a foreign language to me, even the english word. Maybe if I had decoded the word POLAND it would have helped. But the fact that worlds are written in uppercase is another issue. It adds to the effort needed to decode the letters into words. So for me looking at the English language is sometimes like you looking at a foreign language. I have to focus my thoughts to decode the letters into words. But until that point it is all foreign to me. So if you can now imaging what it is like for a child seeing words in this way, you may find you have a bit more patience with them. It is tiresome for any adult to constantly focus your self on a task. Can you imagine what its like for a child to have to do this with a task that you, (a non dyslexic) finds relatively effortless, and then they have other distractions going on around them. Its no wonder dyslexic children get easily distracted. But shouting at them or losing patients with them will NEVER solve the issue. They just need a lot more of your time and effort to learn and store words. I left school with such a small amount of words in my memory bank this now makes decoding the English langue as an adult harder for me. I hope this helps you understand a little more about dyslexia.
11/1/2013
From dyslexic to authorAs a young girl I remember my mum reading to me “The Famous Five” by Enid Blyton. As I listened to my mum read, her words would capture my entire imagination as if I was one of the characters in the book. My love for books grew with each story my mum read to me, along with a quiet desire to be able to read the words for myself. My first attempt at writing a story was age ten. I somehow managed to scribble a few pages into one of my brother’s old school exercise books, before giving up frustrated that I could not spell the words I had in my head. It was a horror story! I stayed struggling with this genre throughout my childhood and into my teens. A few short stories or scenes from my imagination made their way onto paper if they were lucky. At this point I had no idea that I had a talent that needed to be nurtured. I used to think, how could someone who can’t spell be a writer? So I never told the adults in my life how I felt about reading and writing so I put down my pen. I would not write again until I was about thirteen where the horror genre continued along with a fantasy.
I fell into my first real job at seventeen within the dental industry. I studied to pass my dental nurse qualification. As an adult I would still write short stories and scenes from my imagination however my genre was not horror or fantasy but erotica and romance. I managed to struggle though every page of Rider’s by Jilly Cooper and had fallen in love with the Mills & Boon section at Waterstones in Oxford Street. I would show my writing to the other nurses who thought it was outrageous but loved everything I wrote. This gave me the confidence to keep writing. At aged twenty I was writing erotica poetry and also some general philosophy. Looking back I can see the natural creative path I was taking myself on. Just like an artist I was trying different genres and writing styles. Dyslexia for a creative writer is a cruel disability. I carried a vocabulary in my head that did not match my spelling ability. Spell check and computers where not around when I was younger, so I would find myself substituting words on paper in order to make my writing legible, unaware that this only detracted from my writing and the impact it had on the reader. Aged twenty-four I sought help, determined to learn to spell, I found out that I had a weak short-term memory. In short, it went in one ear and out the other! So now all I needed to do was get the information to go in one ear and stay there. I worked on developing my memory with a therapist called Margaret Chawke, which helped me go back to basics and teach myself to spell. Towards the end of my program Margaret asked me to write a diary to help develop my reading and writing skills. I explained that I did not like writing diaries but I did write erotic and romantic scenarios. Margaret suggested building a beginning and an end to one of my erotic or romantic scenarios. This was the birth of my first book Gut Feeling |
AuthorHello, my name is Victoria I am an author. I would like to share with you my opinion & experiences and I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Archives
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