Write, Mama, Write ...

You may have heard the story about the famous author, whose child was asked 'What does your Mummmy do?' 'Well,' he said, 'she's a typist.'

I was thinking this morning how lucky we are in our choice of art form. There are exceptions - tales of Barbara Hepworth sculpting with children at her feet spring to mind, but the other arts are harder to practice with small peope in tow. Even the dazzling Lee Miller abandoned photography, turning to cookery instead. I have been to board meetings with a weeks old baby in a sling, and worked into the night with them asleep in a Moses basket at my side. Most people are pretty forgiving as long as you give them the results they want, but it's not easy. With writing, there is no excuse - all you need is a scrap of paper and a pencil. Articles, stories and novels can be built one word at a time.

Women of my generation grew up believing we could do anything - I remember career events where women in dungarees handed out badges with a militant fist attached to the female gender sign, and we were encouraged to sign up on engineering courses. At one of these, Wendy Cope recited work from her fabulous 'Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis.' Now that, I thought, is a job. It's good to get out and go to as many readings as you can. I saw the lovely, bestselling Sophie Kinsella at a library event recently, and it is reassuring to see that successful writers are real people, just like you. Writers groups are also a fantastic chance to experiment and get feedback. I used to belong to 'Women's Ink' in London, that met in the Nomad bookstore on the Fulham Road after hours. (A writer's group in Valencia was less successful - lots of would-be Hemingways and not much space for the girls).

It can feel like you are writing/typing alone. Support is out there - check out the excellent 'WOW - Women on Writing' (see the links on the right), or Mslexia. Both are full of inspiring stories, writing competitions, and links to work. WOW also sell t-shirts with 'Not Now, I'm Writing!' - something I have often wished was tatooed across my forehead. Then again as Stephen King wrote in his excellent 'On Writing' - put your desk in the corner: 'Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.' Happy typing.