At school I enjoyed English seeing how the characters developed on the paper. At college a tutor would always put a line through my work and write nonsense sentence without discussing my  work. Years later I took up writing again winning several prizes for charity. Including First prize for  prose for Iain Renee Hospice Care and a highly commended certificate for Age UK Essex. Writers Forum have also printed some of my articles in their magazine. I don’t think this is bad for someone who wasn’t encouraged to write at school. Although I did win many certificates at college for care and welfare.

Writing brings with it many rewards as you dig into peoples lives to develop ideas. Sometimes getting up in the early hours of the morning to put words to paper, hoping to develop new skills and ideas. Recently I told a friend not to give up on her ability to write. As sometimes these setbacks make us the people, we are writing helps with stress and once you have achieved something you feel better about yourself.

Submitted by Christine Law, 65, Wolverhampton