This month, I discussed golden pavements, hyperlexia, and four-colour Bic pens with our new social media officer, Sarah Elliott.
Tell us a bit about yourself – where are you from and what do you do?
I hope you’ve heard of Robin Hood because that’s who I pretty much grew up around! No, I’m not that old but I have a strong association because I was born and brought up in Nottingham. My parents came over from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation so I’m what is considered first-generation Black British (I’m still not sure how I feel about that term/label).
Drawn by the bright lights and streets paved with gold (not), I moved to London to study at the University of Greenwich as a teenager. I received a B.Ed. (Hons) in Primary Education and stayed in London to teach. I moved back to Nottingham over 20 years ago now and I’ve had many jobs in education: teacher, specialist teacher, assistant head, deputy head, consultant, advisory teacher for special needs and so on.
It’s a transitory period for me now as I’ve just finished my career in education to see if I can make something of this writing lark! So now, officially I’m a freelance writer (yay!) and I’m carrying out some paid and voluntary work.
I’m quite the speculative fiction nerd/geek and my flash fiction pieces, and short stories tend to have a supernatural flavour. I’ve also self-published two poetry books (Warrior Wisdom Sun, 2022 and United Under One Sun, 2023) and I perform locally as a spoken word artist.
Where did your love of words come from?
I’m hyperlexic (an early reader with an interest in letters and words) and I was reading at the age of two, so I have no recollection of a world without the written word. I’d read every single book in my school by age five and I remember being allowed to read the special books in the headteacher’s cabinet (Thanks Mrs Jebb). My dad had a heavyweight dictionary that I enjoyed flicking through. He was very articulate, and my mum invested a lot in my reading habit.
What made you join 26? And how long have you been a member?
I found out about 26 from my friend Lauren McMenemy and joined this year. I was drawn to the interesting projects and the tagline “where words matter.”
You haven’t had a moment yet to take part in any 26 projects, but as you’ve got to know us have any caught your eye?
I wish I had been involved in the Roald Dahl project! I’m keeping my eye on the newsletter, so I don’t miss out again but I’m looking forward to getting my teeth into the social media officer role I’ve just taken on.
What’s your ideal scenario for writing? (A coffee shop? Quiet retreat? With or without music? What do you do to get yourself in the right frame of mind?)
It’s silence for me, sat at my computer in my study. I use a notebook less and less now. When I do, I always use a four-colour Bic pen because I love them. If inspiration strikes, I jot down ideas in the Notes app on my phone. I prefer to write when I have no time restraints or demands. I have a neurodiverse brain that finds it challenging to stop an activity or switch between tasks if I’m really involved in something. This makes it tricky if I’m constrained to only an hour to write or if I have an appointment later. Sometimes, just knowing that will stop me from starting in the first place. I like the freedom to flow.
What are you working on at the moment?
My long-term project is a challenge to write a piece of flash fiction, short story, prose or poem for each card in a Tarot deck. There are 78 cards. I’ve written about 35 so far. I’m currently gathering research around body swaps and Doppelgängers for an article. I also need to get a guest post for The British Fantasy Society out of my head and onto paper.
Could you tell us about a piece of writing you’re particularly proud of?
Yes! It would be the first article I ever wrote which was for the Horror Tree website. I had to find my way with this one and make it informative and entertaining. I was happy with the result, although I did get lost in the research for a while!
Writing: a habit you don’t want to break – but how do you start and maintain it?
Where do you get your inspiration?
Everything, everywhere, all at once! Images, snippets from conversations, general observations, objects, experiences – there’s inspiration all around. I can write from prompts, but I rarely do as I have so many ideas. I have a list of story ideas on my Notes app on my phone. I just need to solve the time problem…