Pick up your pens and write a classic – May is National Share a Story Month.
The Federation of Children’s Book Groups began National Share a Story Week in 1974, but it became a month-long event in 1998.
Karen Hellewell, the co-ordinator for National Share-a-Story Month, says that the event plans to bring people together through literature.
“The annual event hopes to promote the aim of the Federation, and bring children and books together to encourage the sharing and enjoyment of reading,” Hellewell says.
The event encourages children’s book groups to come together and celebrate the power of a story. However it’s not only children that enjoy a good story, and this year The Linc want to find students who not only read, but write stories too.
Chelsea Cox has always been interested in writing and begins a masters in creative writing in September.
“I can remember reading novels when I was younger such as ‘The Silver Sword’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’, and thinking to myself, ‘wow I want to create stories like these’,” she says.
The self-confessed “literature geek” reads anything from Tolstoy to dictionaries and says that she finds inspiration everywhere, carrying a notebook around with her so she can collect ideas for stories or characters whenever they strike.
Twenty-one-year-old Cox has been working on her first novel since she was fifteen, and hopes to be finished soon, but she doesn’t just want to write novels.
“I write other things like poetry, and I think scriptwriting is the next thing I’d like to have a stab at,” she says.
Cox is currently studying law, and says that she was faced with a difficult decision when she decided to pursue her love of writing instead.
“The logical idea would be for me to carry on studying Law, but writing is something I really want to pursue. It was a difficult situation, especially when my parents had high hopes for me becoming a Lawyer, but in the end I asked myself two questions: If I had all the money in the world, would I still become a Lawyer? My answer was no. And if I had all the money in the world, would I still become a writer? My answer was definitely!” she says.
After securing a place on the creative writing MA course next year, Cox says she is looking forward to learning from, and working alongside, other writers.
And while she knows that it’s not an easy career to make money from, Cox says that she would love to become a full-time writer: “I think a lot of people don’t take writers seriously, but that doesn’t deter me at all. I’d just like to be well known for my work.
“I love literature because I can travel all around world and explore different cultures without even moving from my seat, and that’s the experience I’d like to give other people,” she says.
Coinciding with National Share a Story Month is the Lincoln Book Festival, running from the 12th to the 16th of May. There is a huge variety of events throughout the week, including Jodi Picoult, Anthony Horowitz and Lynda Bellingham. Keep checking The Linc’s website for more details.
In recognition of National Share a Story month, The Linc are compiling an online booklet of your short stories and poems. If you have anything that you’d like to share, e-mail the Lifestyle team: Stephanie.bolton@thelinc.co.uk or candi.hindocha@thelinc.co.uk