The beginning

Mom's been at me for a while. 'You should write, Darling. You write so well'.

But she's my Mom. She thought I looked cute when I had chickenpox. She thought I was clever when I passed Home Economics and that I looked graceful in my Matric Dance dress (trust me, I looked like a mushroom).

Today, however, she wins. I'm going to give it a go. A real go. An invested go. And if there's one thing I know about giving things a go it's this: Effort is directly proportional to required expenditure. So I've enrolled in a distance learning writers course which will cost as much as I can afford and, therefore, not require too much effort on my part. But it does promise to help me get started with info on how to go about getting my writing into print.

Other tools in my writers' arsenal include my highly intelligent, politically aware and socially involved husband and my very entertaining two-year-old daughter who talks much more than she should and has the sense of humour of someone twice her age (which is to say lavatorial). They are in place for inspiration and critique...and hopefully warm milk and sympathy when dealing with the rejection letters.

I've also lived in a number of different countries and speak a few languages, which will hopefully provide a rich source of colourful characters.

My first assignment is to describe a place I have visited. I'll let you know how I get on.