From Newspaper Column to Novel

Back in the day when I left school (far too many years ago to tell you how long ago!) I dreamed of being a journalist but for a variety of reasons my first job was as deputy secretary to the librarian at Bristol University. But I continued to devour all the ‘how to’ writing and journalism books I could lay my hands on ready for the day when I could make a start on my dream career. It wasn’t until I got married four years later and became a stay at home mum with very little money, that I finally started to try and break into journalism.

Those were the pre-internet days when you wrote a piece and sent it off snail mail, with a covering letter, enclosing a sae and waited. Either the sae came winging back with my typewritten feature and a rejection letter or an acceptance letter and a cheque.

The difference in the weight of the envelope always told me which it was before I’d even opened it. Writing unsolicited features like this saw me published in national newspapers and magazines for several years. Then I sent a short piece to my local paper in Devon and was offered a weekly column on the basis of it.

The editor offered me carte blanche to write about whatever I liked so long as it was non-political and non-religious – and if it could be humorous that would be wonderful. Suddenly I was committed to providing 500 – 600 words each week and the deadline was mid-day every Friday.

I was so thrilled when I landed the column and initially thought it would be an easy gig. Sit down once a week, type out a few hundred words about my life, add the odd joke – and wait for fame to arrive! But then I realised I also had certain boundaries where I needed to be careful. Anything that occurred in my life might be fodder for the column i.e. pets, shopping, neighbours, family etc but because I was writing under my real name I had to be careful about the real life incidents that involved people other than my immediate family. Didn’t want to be sued for libel!

I wrote mainly personal lifestyle pieces for the column and tried to make it appeal to both men and women. Looking back at a few of my press cuttings from that time I see I wrote about DIY, car boot sales, mothers-in-law, astrology, driving and of course I often embarrassed my children by naming and shaming them! Sorry kids! In the beginning it took me many hours to write my 500 words every week but by the time I moved and had to give the column up, I could produce my copy in a couple of hours.

Seeing the heading ‘The Jennie Bohnet Column’ every week was a real thrill – payment per word was so low it barely registered in my account, but it was worth a fortune in confidence boosting. And when readers actually wrote letters to the editor about a piece – that felt amazing. Having it syndicated too in the groups other papers along the south coast of the UK was another thrill.

So what did I learn from having my own column for all those years?

Several things: discipline regarding deadlines, the fact that writer’s block doesn’t exist in journalism, facts need checking again and again, the knowledge that syndication doesn’t mean you’re heading to the nationals, that local papers rarely pay well – but as a confidence booster it was wonderful.

A by-product of writing a regular column too was it inspired me to write more and I was sending out features to magazines on a regular basis at this time – and the sales were climbing.

Did writing a column help when I started to write short stories and novels? In a word, yes.

I’d learnt about the importance of a good hook in the opening sentence – novels and shorts definitely need that too.

The importance of asking those Five W’s and one H questions – ‘Who, Why, What, When, Where and How’ for features also helps when applied to getting to know your characters and working out the plots of novels.

Features, like novels, need a beginning, a middle and an end so when I started to write fiction I knew about structuring my writing and story arc.

I trained myself to write short sentences and to ‘cut to the chase’ as my editor called it. Very little description was wanted or allowed – if I dared put any in his red pen slashed it out. These days writing my short stories and novels, my sentences tend to be on the short side and my descriptions are always concise.

If you ever get the chance to write a regular column – go for it. The benefits and rewards can be around for a long time.

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Find out more about her on her website http://www.jenniferbohnet.com/

Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/jenniewriter

About Jennifer’s latest novel: SUMMER AT COAST GUARD COTTAGES

‘A wonderful summer read’ Stardust Book Reviews

Escape to the seaside this summer with Jennifer Bohnet’s fabulously feel-good beach read!
A summer of secrets!

Karen is escaping to her little cottage on the Devonshire coast this summer – it’s the perfect way to forget about her ex-husband. So she’s surprised to find love again when she least expected it!

Bruce is learning to live again after the death of his beloved wife. She loved their cottage by the sea but Bruce is torn by the bitter sweet memories – should he sell up and stay in the city?

Carrie is at a crossroads in her life after inheriting a fortune from the father she never met. Now she must make a life-changing decision that will affect her new friends, too…

Could eight weeks at Coastguard Cottages change all of their lives – forever?

Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson, Ellen Berry and Caroline Roberts.

Praise for Summer at Coastguard Cottages:
‘A beautifully written summer read’ Rebecca Stacey (NetGalley reviewer)

‘Gorgeously pleasant and heartwarming in a beautiful location!’ Rebecca Carter (NetGalley reviewer)

‘A joy to read!’ Gabrielle O’Sullivan (NetGalley reviewer)

‘Addictive’ Natasha Potter (NetGalley reviewer)

‘A wonderful summer read’ Stardust Book Reviews

 

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips