Finding My Voice

findingmyvoice

I remember telling people that I wanted, or rather, that I was going to write a book.  I felt stupid but yet heavily expectant that this was my 'thing.'  No matter how silly I felt I would say this over and over again, out loud, but honestly nothing happened for years.  

I took advice and tried to do the whole thing of, 'write what you know' deal and just nothing clicked.  The projects I would start would hit walls or I would lose interest, and who would want to read my book if I didn't even want to write it.  Life then took over and I forgot about this dream.

Then one day my career and employment changed dramatically and my life felt upside down.  I didn't know what to do with my life, or what a positive step would look like in that moment.  I was completely stuck.  

One morning I woke up with a single word on my lips, 'books.'  I immediately recalled the meeting I had with my son's school teacher just a couple of days before and she had informed me that his style of learning to read wasn't the standard phonetic sequence and sounding out, he was a memory reader.  He would develop his reading my memorising the words from books, so it was muscle memory, rather than relying on his brain to act within the moment and discover the word on the spot there and then.  This was the 'Aha' moment and the focus I needed.  This would be my starting point.



I had no university degree or special qualification, but I had drive.  I read, I studied, (what I could find in free resources and from stalking, I mean following others on social media and blogs), and I wrote and wrote.  I failed and I gained skill.  It's not enjoyable to spend hours on something and then take a step back and say to yourself, 'what a mess.'  I remember the day when the words on the page became alive.  That day, the hard work proved worth it.  That day I realised that i could actually do this and in December 2019 I was signed to a publisher for a book that aids its reader to memorise the text to develop their reading.

My submission was unique as I created a storyboard to aid the tale and at the time it was for solely for me to express what the story meant, but I was informed it added another layer to the book. That gave me more confidence to trust my instincts and be comfortable being a little bit outside the box.

All of my books, that sit in the wings whilst my first book's launch approaches, come from playtime with my child.  Our adventures, our silly songs, our conversations all spark the creativity that helped me find my writers voice.

I haven't stopped with my development and I have continued to stretch my skills to different genres and styles.  Many authors can successfully translate their talent to other genres and I would like that too.  I desire to grow, to develop and to connect with readers.

I write for others and love and enjoy to partner with other authors, (published or unpublished), or allow creative people with a story to tell to get their voice down on the page.  I am to help encourage them to completing, self-publishing and or submitting their work to a publisher.  So where I started to where I am now I can see so much change.  Its taken time but I suppose its like being pregnant, when the baby is ready then things will build momentum.

Writing for other people is an honor and I deeply appreciate anyone that reads and or interacts with my content or books whether they know it is me or not.  Thank you for giving me your time.


I hope that I have encouraged you today.  If you would like to share your story or contact me please feel free to private message me on our Facebook page, or on Instagram.  You can also email me using theencouragerslife@gmail.com address.  Be sure to check out our next article here on ‘The Encouragers Life.’


Article written by J. Bingham

Copyright 2021

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