In the first part of this two-part post I aim to highlight an area of importance which I feel must be acknowledged and addressed where necessary.

Whilst reading and reviewing over recent months I’ve noticed that there is a growing number of people who would like to be writers. Some have seen the exceptional success of authors who have written such things as the ‘Harry Potter’ series, and the ‘Fifty Shades’ series.

The new wave of writers unfortunately includes a vast number of folk who are out to make a quick buck from a few days of minimal effort. Therein is the issue. I take exception to those ‘writers’ who gain access to a computer, type a load of words, add a blatantly ill-prepared cover and title; then self-publish to rake in their fortune.

I have no quarrel with novice writers, because apart from agreeing that the desire to be a writer is good, I was in that position myself only a few years ago. In my defence, I imposed a self-styled apprenticeship on myself before I dared to ask anyone to pay for my efforts.

Apprenticeship? Well, for those that are not familiar with the term, it means in a nutshell that I acquired a reasonable level of knowledge through learning by study and practical experience. No, that isn’t an official definition, but it wraps up the meaning.

Today, I wrote an article that will remain on the menu of my blog for the benefit of anyone who would like to take a look. The article is entitled, ‘Once upon a time … ‘ and might prove of particular interest to those who are in the early stages of a writing career. I’m not saying it is the only way to go, but I found it worked.

Coming in Part 2 of this post will be my own observations on what I consider the requirements, or if you like, qualifications of the prospective creative writer.

As always, thank you for reading.