I've always written. Ever since I was a kid I've had a pen in hand scribbling furiously on a piece of paper to try and catch my ideas. When I was younger my pen could never keep up with my racing thoughts. Now I'm older, my thoughts are slower and it's much easier to pin my ideas to paper.

I've recently started doing some creative writing courses and Stephen King's On Writing and Fowler's Modern English Usage were suggested books for aspiring writers. I was lucky enough to score them both at op shops.

I discovered the excellent The Usborne Creative Writer's Handbook: Everything You Need To Become A Better Writer at a local bookshop. I'm a big fan of junior non-fiction books for finding out facts and information. Non-fiction for children tends to be written in plain english, has great illustrations that stop me getting bored and are written in a lively and engaging way.