Catherine Campbell

I kept diaries as a child and wrote my first novella at age 10. It was about man who discovers his wife of 40 years has a collection of dead bodies in the attic. My stories aren’t so dark these days.

In my 20’s I started performing comedy improv, which taught me everything I know about storytelling. When you’re making stories up on the spot with an audience to please you learn very quickly what works and what doesn’t. Improv took me around the world performing in festivals in Wellington, Chicago and year after year in Edinburgh. It was around this time, making audiences laugh with silly made up stories, that I wondered if writing for children may be the thing for me. The problem was I hadn’t done any actual writing for years, unless you count the sales and promotional scripts I wrote for work. It took me a few more years of self-doubt and procrastination before I pulled myself together and started writing creatively again. And I loved it! An early win in a children’s short story competition sealed the deal. It gave me the confidence and motivation to keep going and think perhaps I could make a go of it as a children’s author.

I read a lot of children’s books and every now and then I read one that is so good it leaves me unsure about my own writing. All writers I know struggle with self-doubt. I let myself wallow for exactly one day, then try to analyse what was so good about it and if there’s any lessons I can incorporate into my work. It’s always a reminder to keep working on my craft, keep improving.

I grew up on Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. I’ve read both as an adult and am still in awe of them as writers. Many aspects of Enid Blyton are obviously outdated, but the adventures the children go on are inspired. Roald Dahl still makes me laugh. He’s an exceptional storyteller. He takes the narrative to places others wouldn’t dare to go. (PLOT SPOILER ALERT) In The Witches, when the boy is discovered at the back of the witch conference and caught, you expect him to be saved by his Gran at the last moment. But no, instead he’s turned onto a mouse! Fantastic storytelling! You’re completely thrown. Suddenly you have no idea what’s going to happen. I stayed up till 2am reading this recently and there’s not many books do that to me these days.

Explore every avenue and keep writing. It’s a long road finding an agent and I still haven’t found one. While I’m querying an MG manuscript, I self-published a chapter book. Self-publishing isn’t for everyone. There’s a lot to learn and you have to love the marketing side of things. You still need help from editors and cover designers to ensure your book is to a professional standard. But I’ve loved learning the process and it’s so satisfying seeing my book out there and selling. I’ve had 6 rejections from agents (which I’m told is not many on the road to finding a yes) and they don’t sting as much knowing I’ve got a book out there that people are buying and enjoying.

I have a young child, work 4 days a week, and have a 2 hour commute. It’s tricky! I book in writing days on the weekend with my husband, and I make the most of any downtime. As soon as my son is napping, I’m on the laptop. I always have two activities planned for my commute on the train. If I get a seat I write. If I have to stand I’ll be researching something on my phone, reading a writing related book, or reviewing the submissions from my critique group. 

It’s so tricky balancing a creative project with young children that I started blogging about it, when I get the time! You can check it out here catherinecampbellwrites.com/blog