Dear LPG readers,

When we consider the creative side of life, I have concluded that, for me, art shares a significant similarity with music, which is that I have never been very good at creating either. I suppose I had the same opportunities as everyone else when I was born, but I must have been looking the other way when God was distributing those two particular talents. Nevertheless, despite all that, I have always aimed for at least an average level in one of the two fields, and in all my years of effort, I have not made much progress.   

On the other hand, I am fiercely proud of the progress I have made in learning to navigate a computer, and while I accept that no one can claim to know everything about it, I confidently believe that I now possess certain skills. 

When I first retired, I decided it might be time to write a book, and after a year or so of serious work, I have put something together. However, even now that I have digitalised it with the aid of all the computing knowledge I mentioned earlier, one might call it more of an extended essay because, for all my writing, it looked thin when I printed it all out. 

I have spent months editing and perfecting the work, and although I know it will never be a bestseller, I believe that self-publishing is the next step in my authorial journey, even though a print run of about 50 copies for my family is where I see my destination.

I won’t spoil it for you, just in case it ever gets published, but suffice to say that when you're unsure the content will be strong enough on its own, there's a backup. I have always thought that a novel, however short, needs the occasional illustration, which in my case will draw the reader’s eye and add a bit of padding to the content. I am determined that this novel will be entirely my own work, regardless of how it is received. 

However, I am now faced with my original problem: my lack of drawing skill. I considered paying someone else to take the pictures, but I have perfected the writing part in my old age and am determined that this work should be entirely mine. I found some videos on the computer that make basic drawing appear relatively easy. I’m not aiming to be a Picasso overnight, and with my limited abilities, I have decided that sketches will have to suffice. They seem like the easiest option, and it didn't take many pieces of wasted paper to realise that I needed help. That’s when I came across some clever ‘how-to’ videos packed with ideas for beginners, whether you want to create beautiful pictures, cartoons, or other visuals.  

The written version of my ‘Rome’ wasn’t built in a day. I don’t doubt that the artistic illustrations of my book’s hero might take me some time to perfect (or even make look vaguely recognisable). Still, I have been following some online tutorials I’ve seen, and I am making some progress. The friends I’ve asked tell me they now recognise what I am drawing. I believe that in about a year, with daily practice, my hero might be as ready for publication as his story, and having that goal in mind is helping me look forward to bringing him to literary life. 

AF, Bellingham

AF introduces you to her online teachers…

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