Type Cast Interview 7: Celine Callow | Scott Gilmore

A Series of Creative Writing Blogs To Share Story Ideas And Creative Writing Inspiration From Young Authors And Poets.

Click the image to watch Scott’s latest SG Fiction YouTube Channel content – The Forge Episode 5

When I started over a year ago as Scott Gilmore, Belfast author, blogger and copywriter, I didn’t think I would be finishing a series of writer interview blogs sharing the work of young authors. However, another week has come around, and yet another young author/writer has interested me to appear in my author interview for a creative writing blog – ‘Type Cast‘.

This will be the final Type Cast writer interview until after the festive period and Christmas. I have sincerely loved writing this series of blogs and learning about young, up-and-coming writers. Being a primary school teacher by profession, I love learning about young people and how they showcase their creative abilities and talents.

As authors, we are always looking for ways to improve and develop how we write. We love to analyse the work that other artists compile over their careers as creatives and see what we can apply to the work that we produce ourselves. As young writers, who can regularly be insecure about your abilities or whether to self-publish versus looking for an agent, reading Type Cast can help you see that you are now alone.

Seeing that multiple young writers out there face the same choices and dilemmas can make you see your concerns are not unique. One thing I’ve learned is how many young authors see the pursuit of agent hunting and traditional publication through unsolicited manuscripts as mostly pointless. The demoralising feeling of getting multiple rejections can put young people off writing as a whole. Read this series and comment below each blog with your thoughts and start a conversation.

If you would like to appear in the Type Cast Young Writers’ Blog, email me at the address linked below to enquire.

I hope to continue with this blog series after the festive period has passed with a host of new young authors for the Type Cast Young Writers’ Blog. The blog has been a massive success with well over a thousand reads and many more shares and likes on social media. Thank you so much to all of the writers who took part.

If you would like to appear in the next round of Type Cast Young Writers’ Blogs, please email me at scott@sgfiction.co.uk to enquire about appearing. All I do is send you a questionnaire and ask for 3 – 4 good quality photographs to illustrate the article. You then publicise the article on your social media. That’s about it!

My final young author of this series of Type Cast is Celine Callow. Celine is an anthropology student, blogger and writer. Her latest work, Bad Women, is a collection of short stories about women who break the rules. Check out Celine Callow’s website and give her your support.

Celine Callow is a young anthropology student, blogger, and writer.

1. When did you first realise that you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always written. Reading and writing are the ways I make sense of the world. I’ve been writing stories and poems since I learned how to spell, but I always thought it would just be a hobby. I never imagined I would have written a whole novel.

2. As a young author, what do you think makes a good story?

A good story grips hold of the listener or reader with powerful language, and it takes them on a journey with a beginning, middle and end. For me, I like the characters and storylines that surprise the reader in some way. There doesn’t have to be a big twist, but I love stories that remind us not to judge a book by its cover.

3. Do you feel there are any challenges being a young author?

It’s challenging being an author, though I don’t know if it gets any easier the older you get! The main challenges I’ve encountered have been finishing and polishing my work, finding people to give feedback, and getting to grips with online marketing. It’s hard, but not impossible. When your stories are being read and enjoyed, it’s all worth it.

4. What are your hobbies away from writing, and what makes them important to you?

One of my main hobbies is blogging, which is technically still writing so I don’t know if that counts! As I’m a fiction author and poet, it’s nice to write about my other interests sometimes like travel, fashion and beauty. I also find it therapeutic to learn another language. I take weekly French lessons and watch French television and films. I find it challenging and rewarding to learn something new.

5. Are you traditionally or independently published and what title/s have you put out so far?

I’m hoping to have the best of both worlds. I’ve got a collection of short stories that is self-published on Amazon this month. The collection is called ‘Bad Women’. I’ve also finished a novel lately, and I’ll be looking to go down the traditional publishing route with this. The title is top secret but, fingers-crossed, it will be out in book-shops everywhere one day.

Celine Callow’s debut work – Bad Women. Available from Amazon.

6. What one piece of advice would you give to a budding author who has not quite taken that step?

Be brave! If you have it in you to write, that desire will probably never go away. The biggest challenge for me at the beginning was to finish a project and polish it until it shines. However, once you’ve done that, there’s an enormous sense of achievement, and you want to keep going.

Resist the urge to keep starting new stories, finish something you’re happy with and then look for ways to get your work out there! Share it on a blog, journal, competition, self-publish on Amazon or look for an agent and publisher. Don’t be afraid of rejection – keep moving forward!

7. In relation to writing, what are your hopes and aspirations for the future?

My hopes and aspirations for the future are to make a name for myself as an author. I aim to build a community of readers that genuinely enjoy my writing.

I write the kinds of stories and characters that I would have loved to read in my late teens, so I suppose I’m writing for a younger version of myself. For me, the most important thing is for my work to find the people that connect with it and I think that’s everything most authors would hope.

Celine is an author with a lot of hopes for the future. Show her support on her website and social media today.

As the final article of this series of Type Cast Young Writers’ Blogs, it was awesome to read another positive, determined young writer who was not afraid to ‘take the plunge’ and chase her dream of becoming an author. Young people, like Celine, Peighton, Ania, and the other talented young people out there should never be afraid of shining a light on their talents.

In her writer interview, the fact that Celine would like to have the best of both worlds by trying to follow a self-publication route as well as publishing traditionally shows ambition and drive not solely to wait for her works to be published. There are many people out there who feel the same as Celine, including myself, and the access to KDP, Kobo, etc., means that publication is not as out of reach as it once was.

Celine, like myself, is a blogger and looks to write in other avenues as well as chasing the goal of being an author. I agree that Digital Marketing is difficult and, as I have moved into this career myself, I know it can be challenging. The continuously moving world of Google Advertising, YouTube Channels, and online digital marketing trends is a difficult one to keep up with, and by providing copywriting services for companies myself, you learn how competitive every market is out there.

Again, thank you so much to Peighton Weber, Jordan Smyth, Kathryn, Mary Gehad Ali, Ania Whiteley, Samantha Evergreen, and Celine Callow for appearing in this series of Type Cast for a writer interview. I have sincerely loved learning about your work. Please spread the word of the Type Cast Young Writers’ Blog, and we can hopefully grow the writer interview blog to bigger and better things in 2020.