Be careful what you wish for...

One of the best things I did this year was to publish my books, primarily Please eat and When anorexia came to visit. Once I got into the swing of things, I was on a roll. I immersed myself in it and loved doing it. And, for the past few weeks, I've been umming and ahhing about what to write next, toying with a number of different routes.


Personally I've reached a real crossroads in my writing career. For the past 25 years I've been a professional advertising copywriter (freelancing for the past 15 years or so) (this is me: Creative Copy Copywriting Services), but the recession, Ben's eating disorder / post-eating disorder issues, and more recently Google's SME-destroying decision to catapult my business website from page #1 to page #goodness-knows-only-where, have pretty much reduced my business from a successful concern to... well... er... quieter, shall we say...

So I wondered whether to take a year off and do an MA in Creative Writing at one of our local universities. This way I can fine-tune my authoring skills, under expert guidance, to a professional level from a perspective of continuing to write about eating disorders, do ghost-writing, articles, etc, and even maybe some fiction. And perhaps take my freelance copywriting business in a new direction, too.

Since publishing When anorexia came to visit in September, I've felt a real lack of focus and purpose. I've spent loads of time procrastinating and waiting to be 'inspired'. I've devoted oodles of time to Ben and his university problems, too. The result is that I've been feeling pretty down, kind of like there is no focus in my life - well, not a positive focus at any rate.

I just know I want to write and write and write. But not necessarily copywriting which I can do with my eyes closed. I want to write about real, worthwhile, life-changing things. And I want to do it professionally i.e. not self-publish.

I just need some proper guidance.

So next week I'm going to talk to the guy in charge of the (full or part-time) MA to test the water.

I have to laugh, though... (in an ironic kind of way...)

In the spring of 2009 I was feeling as if my life had lost its purpose and focus. I'd fallen out of love with my copywriting business and with the masses of work I used to put into the school PTA. So, although I am not a religious person, I said: "OK, God. If you're there, give me a purpose in my life. Give me something I can really get my teeth stuck into."

And the rest, as they say, is history...

They also say: "Be careful what you wish for lest it come true..."