A woman's place is in the...

I recently met a lady called Emma on Twitter, who has produced some fantastic t shirts stating “A woman’s place is in the House of Commons” (link to purchase below). Feminism and politics is too big an issue to cover in one blog post, but I wanted to explain why I’ve written “The Election” with a female politician protagonist.

Zoe Fletcher is one of the two main characters in my novel. She starts off as a student debater at Durham University and quickly fights her way to the top of her student society to become President. Right from the outset she faces misogyny and sexism from the “old boys” of the club. However, Zoe triumphs at university and she quickly rises up the ladder of a political career in Westminster. Of course, she faces some opposition along the way but I haven’t painted too stark a picture for what it’s like for women in politics.

The thing is, I don’t think women of my generation are as encumbered as previous generations. In 2015, women leaving school and university have exactly the same opportunities as men of the same age.  Somewhere along the way a gap appears and perhaps there is still a glass ceiling. But I think the ceiling is beginning to crack. Just look at the recent General Election leaders’ debates featuring Nicola Sturgeon, Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood – they have made David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and Ed Miliband look decidedly dated. The men strain to assert their authority and credentials as leaders, but the women seem confident in their style of consensual politics and appear as far more natural leaders. I’ve also been in contact with some fantastic female parliamentary candidates on Twitter who I’m certain will make a massive positive difference to government if elected.

I sense the tide of politics is changing in favour of equal representation for men and women (but still only around 25% of female PPC though, which needs to change). I wanted to write a political story from a woman’s point of view as I don’t think there’s too much of that out there at the moment. Of course, I am a man writing from woman’s perspective so how can I really know what I am writing about?

Judge for yourself by downloading my book from Kindle! - www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VJ39ILE

If you want to buy Emma’s t shirt, here’s the link - https://www.etsy.com/shop/finprint

I’ve just written my first novel and this is what I learned…

After many years of writing short stories and starting longer novels, I have finally finished writing my first full length novel called “The Election”. It will soon be available for sale on Kindle. Here are the top things I learned:

Goals and deadlines are important

It’s not enough to simply want to write
a story. You need support in getting to the end. I’ve started several stories and stalled after around 30,000 words. With this one, I set a goal of writing 1,000 words per day until my story was done. I also set a deadline – my story is focused on the UK General Election and it had to be done in time for the start of the campaign, otherwise I would have to wait another five years before telling it.

Time can be squeezed from the most unlikely of places

Looking back to my days as a student I can’t believe how much free time I squandered. Now I have a full time job and a 2 year old daughter. I spent a lot of time researching procrastinating about how top executives and leaders get the most out of their days. A lot of people get up really early and I’ve read all sorts about delegation, outsourcing, etc. At the end of the day it’s important to find a routine that works for you and I managed to carve out a daily writing habit.

Stop when you’ve still got enough steam to carry on

I think this is a tip from Ernest Hemingway, who suggested that we should always stop writing when we’ve got enough interest to come back to the work the next day. It’s incredibly demoralising to exhaust myself writing 10,000 words and then completely run out of energy or inclination to go on.

Enjoy the process

At the end of the day, how many authors actually sell millions of books and make a living by writing? Very few. I wouldn’t want to rely on writing as a full time job and I’ve got other interests. Writing is a part of me. It’s something that I enjoy doing as often as possible. With a bit of discipline I could call myself a writer but I’ve heard from too many authors who feel jaded and unappreciated. Even if no one else reads my books, at least I enjoy writing them. Write for yourself, not for anyone else.

My book, The Election, is currently on Kindle. Get it on Amazon now - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00VJ39ILE