Thank you, Val, for inviting me over to your blog to chat about why I write fiction.
It is always a pleasure to have you visit, Patricia and to read about your writing and experiences. Now over to you.
Firstly, I write because I can’t not write. Writing is almost as important to me as breathing. A form of oxygen. When prevented from delving into my stories, a sadness comes over me, knocks me down flat and I become fatigued. Back with my characters for a short time and I receive an injection of energy. I write fiction as it is my escape to another world and I can become someone or anything I’d like to be.
What I write
Mostly I write novels and poetry, but I also dip into short stories/ flash fiction and have been known to have a go at scriptwriting. Writing poetry whilst also writing novels gives me breathing space from my stories, allowing my plots to develop. For my novels I write family sagas.
Why I write family sagas
I love writing about family because so much happens in families – family conflict, romance, births and unfortunately death. All of these elements are brought into the House of Grace trilogy along with fashion being an important feature in House of Grace and The Granville Legacy. I chose to write a trilogy as I was too attached to let my characters go, and luckily for me, my readers wanted to keep them too. Even now that the trilogy is complete, I am not ready to say goodbye to the Granville and Gilmore families, so they will return in other forms, possibly standalone novels, or novellas or maybe another trilogy or two down the line.
In the meantime, I’ve started a novel about new families, which may too become a saga, but this time, rather than stepping back to the 1950s, 60s and 80s, I have gone back further into the late 1800s. Fashion in this story will also play a big part because not only do I love writing about family but fashion too.
Why I write poetry
Poetry is something special. You can take a subject and write a story in a few words rather than pages. Poetry taught me to make sure each word counts and that is a helpful tool to use in novel writing too. My ambition as a poet is to become an imagist and incorporate this skill into my novels, making sure I show rather than tell. In poetry, my favourite subject to write about is nature and by adding fiction, I am able to retell ancient myths. I write mainly in narrative form so still storytelling. My debut poetry pamphlet ‘Taxus Baccata’ published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press explores myths, folklore, and legends around trees.
My prize-winning short story ‘The Montefiore Bride’, published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press, is told in prose poetry. It was a delight to create a fictional account of the Montefiore bride’s arrival in West Sussex. All proceeds from signed copies and pdf version purchased via my website go to my local homeless shelter.
Why I write
I write first and foremost for me but I love to know readers are enjoying my work too. I never put pressure on myself to write so many words or poems. If it happens it happens, but I do need to action something to do with writing, such as editing. Otherwise as mentioned in the beginning of this post, it has an unpleasant effect on me and I become unbearable to be around.
Links
Links to Books
The Author
Patricia M Osborne is married with grown-up children and grandchildren. She was born in Liverpool but now lives in West Sussex. In 2019 she graduated with an MA in Creative Writing (University of Brighton).
Patricia writes novels, poetry and short fiction, and has been published in various literary magazines and anthologies. She has two published novels, House of Grace and The Coal Miner's Son and her debut poetry pamphlet 'Taxus Baccata' was published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press in July 2020.
She has a successful blog at Whitewings.com where she features other writers and poets. When Patricia isn't working on her own writing, she enjoys sharing her knowledge, acting as a mentor to fellow writers and as an online poetry tutor with Writers' Bureau