What Derbhile Wrote Next

I ponder what my next writerly adventure will be.

'What are you going to write next, Derbhile?'

It's a routine question, a staple at social and business functions. People ask it to fill up space in a conversation. But it fills me with dread. Because I don't know what I'll be writing next.

Not a Prolific Writer

There are writers whose words pour out of them, who can't contain all the story ideas teeming in their heads. My social media feed is full of them. I've had to snooze them so I won't feel woefully inadequate.

Truth be told, it'll be a long time before I produce anything at the scale of People Wipe Me. That was a show that crept up on me over time, the culmination of years of smaller pieces I performed at comedy and spoken word events.

My Post People Wipe Me Writing

I've been coasting along quite happily since People Wipe Me finished. Every morning, before I start my paid work, I vomit words onto the page, loosely based on themes I'm interested in. I'm hoping this will wake up my subconscious, but it hasn't. At least not fully.

I've also been having a lovely time hosting open mics and attending the launches of books produced by groups I facilitated as a creative writing tutor.

Photo Description: Me at Mezze Café in Tramore MCing the Speak Up Open Mic event I run with fellow spoken word artist Deborah Somers. I'm wearing a sparkly jumper, black trousers and a big smile.

Flash Fiction Piece

I've produced some short pieces suitable for performing at open mics and a piece of flash fiction called Glint. Glint harks back to the days of my novel, The Pink Cage, published all the way back in 2011.

Back then, I dreamed of a writing career that involved a string of successful literary fiction novels, being invited onto panel discussions and writing a weekly slice of life column for a national newspaper.

So far, Glint has been turned down by Howl and The Waxed Lemon literary journals. I'm waiting to hear from The Four Faced Liar and I'm also going to try The Allingham Festival in Donegal. If I don't succeed at either of those, I won't take it any further.

Publishing Not A Priority

This won’t be out of a fit of pique - honest! It's because I no longer have a burning interest in being published. Whatever large scale piece I write next will be a performance piece. There is more than one way of bringing your writing into the world.

I also reckon it'll be a humorous piece. There are writers who write beautifully about nature and the human condition, but I'm choosing laughter over lyricism, dialogue over description.

And there are writers who are great at writing for social change, but I'd rather write about crisps than causes.

In the meantime, I will trust that my next large-scale will come when I get out of my own way.

Plans For My Newsletter

And if anyone asks what I'm writing next, I'm going to tell them that I post humorous pieces on my newsletter, because a newsletter on Substack or MailChimp is another viable way of sending your writing into the world.

It'll be slice of life pieces on Thursdays and updates on my writing life every second Tuesday, with links to useful resources woven into every post, which I hope will help you all with your writing careers.

So, here's the blatant plug. If you want to follow my writing adventures, sign up to my newsletter. See, there's even a big shiny button for you to press.

And here's another blatant plug. If you think your friends would like the newsletter, share it with them. Here's another shiny button to help you do that.