The Bloody Scotland Book Festival - Day 2

It was good to have a slow start on Saturday morning, as I was still processing the events from the day before. We went for coffee and breakfast at a cute cafe in the centre of Stirling. It was lovely to sit in the window and look out at the passersby and discuss the festival so far. After brunch, we strolled through the streets of Stirling on our way to the Albert Halls.

Saturday 1 pm - Frank Gardner

The first event of the day was a discussion with Frank Gardner the journalist and war correspondent, who has written a new book. When we arrived at the venue there was a huge line stretching up the street towards the castle. As we joined the line we saw Frank Gardner himself passing by on his way to the event.

Once inside, every seat was taken, and there was a buzz of excitement waiting for Frank to come onto the stage. When Frank joined us, he was engaging to listen to and extremely knowledgeable about politics. I found the event to be more focussed on Frank’s knowledge of politics rather than his writing, and he was very much treated like a celebrity, with the audience excited to meet him and to ask questions! I think my main takeaway from the event was that as a writer it’s helpful to write about topics and places you know lots about, such as Frank using his knowledge of foreign correspondence and conflict to inspire and inform his creative writing.

After the event finished, there was a few hours break before the next one, so I decided to go for a walk up to the castle to see the views across Stirling.

Saturday 4 pm - Ann Cleaves

The next event was with Ann Cleaves and I was really excited to hear her talk about her new book, which is the next book in her Vera Stanhope series (she is the author behind the television series Vera and Shetland). Ann came across very genuine and you could hear her passion for the characters she has created through her writing. It was lovely to listen to her speaking so passionately about her joy for writing.

The main thing I took away from Ann was the importance of creating a character who you love and enjoy spending time with (in your own imagination), and how the character can become a person who you get to know. She talked about how the character Vera naturally arose in her imagination, and how she has developed and got to know Vera through her writing, which has led to Vera becoming a favourite character for many people who watch the television series.

I think Ann shared the experience of becoming a writer really well, as she is just a normal person (a social worker), who had the urge to write and who started writing about characters who she had created in her imagination. These characters have come to life through her books and the television series based on the books. She shared that her favourite time to write is early in the mornings in her kitchen when everyone else, including her grandchildren, are still asleep!

Saturday 8.30 pm - Irvine Welsh and Louise Welsh

The final event of the weekend was a discussion with Irvine Welsh and Louise Welsh. I had chosen this event because I recognised Irvine Welsh as the author who wrote Train Spotting, so I was intrigued to hear him talk about his experience as a writer.

It turned out that Irvine and Louise are cousins who grew up in Edinburgh together and who have both written books and had careers as authors. They were both very different personalities and have different approaches to writing. Irvine had strong opinions and a bold approach to writing, where he explained that each time a story arises in him, he puts pen to paper and gets the story out. Once, he’s got the story down in words, he’ll pass it onto a publisher to send out to the world. He described it as releasing the story to get it out of your system, a bit like expelling emotions, thoughts, and feelings. It sounded quite cathartic!

Louise was very different in her approach, as she is an academic who lectures in creative writing at the University of Glasgow. Hence, she has studied the art of writing and is familiar with writing techniques. Therefore, her approach to writing is more structured and she also views writing through the lens of a teacher and mentor to her students.

Both Irvine and Louise came across as passionate about storytelling and discussed how their social and cultural surroundings have inspired the stories they want to tell. It was interesting to hear their discussion and to think about how my own experiences have influenced the stories I may want to tell!

Reflections

Having attended my first writing festival, I now feel more connected to the world of writing and have first-hand experience of meeting a range of authors and people working in the industry. It was definitely worth going to the festival and listening to the different talks, which showcased the experiences and perspectives of the authors. I have learnt a lot and feel that I am developing a foundational understanding of what it means to be a writer.

My main takeaways from the festival are:

• The art of storytelling is at the core of good writing (having an engaging plot is important!).

• Creating characters who you love and enjoy spending time with (in your imagination) is key to writing stories.

• Writing can be a lonely and challenging process, so it’s important to make friends and to lean on others for support during this journey.

Overall it has been an excellent experience and I would recommend attending a writing festival to anyone who is interested in exploring their passion or desire to write and tell stories!

The Bloody Scotland Book Festival - Day 1

Coming across the Festival and deciding to go…

I came across a pamphlet for the Bloody Scotland Festival when I was in a shop and curiously picked it up. I hadn’t heard of the festival before and I hadn’t been to a book festival before. I flicked through the pages looking at the different events and how the festival was organised. Although, crime is not a genre I have often read, it seemed like a good opportunity to attend a book festival and to learn more about authors and writing. So, I thought why not go? It would also be an opportunity to visit the city of Stirling!

In preparation for the Festival, I decided to pre-book a number of events, so I would have a plan of what to see. There were lots of events to choose from and it was hard to know where to start. I decided to make the most of the Festival by booking three events for each day. This seemed like a manageable number to attend and would give me some variety. I chose some big names, such as Ann Cleaves and Irvin Welsh, who I thought would be interesting to see. I also tried to book names that I did not recognise, but which might be learning opportunities. It was all very hit and miss, but I had to start somewhere!

Travelling to Stirling

I travelled to Stirling by train from Edinburgh, which was super easy, as they have an hourly train which takes about 40 minutes. I had actually booked a ticket for the 1.30 pm train, but arrived at the station earlier than expected by 12.15, so was able to hop onto the 12.30 pm train to Stirling. The journey was beautiful, as we rode through open fields with blue skies and hay bails.

When I arrived in Stirling, I walked out of the station and was struck by the beauty of the city. I set off walking to my accommodation, which was a ten minute walk from the station. I was meeting my parents at the accommodation, who were joining me for the festival. As I walked through the streets of Stirling I continued to be charmed by the city and felt excited for the weekend ahead!

Once checked in, we headed to the Albert Halls, which was the venue where most of our events were taking place. It was a beautiful historic building at the bottom of the hill leading up to the castle. I was really impressed with the venue.

A chance encounter

When waiting for the first show, we had tea in the coffee shop at the Albert Halls. It was very busy, and there were no tables available, so we decided to ask a lady if we could share her table. Fortunately, she was very considerate and invited us to join her. We got chatting and the lady was called Linda, she was a retired Bookseller who had worked at Waterstones throughout her career.

Linda was familiar with book festivals as she has been visiting them for years as part of her role as a Bookseller. She was easy to chat to and knew a lot about the industry. She mentioned that her favourite book festival is in Harrogate (I will keep this on my list of places to visit). It was fun to start the festival off by chatting to another attendee, and learning about what had brought them to the festival!

Friday at 3 pm - JD Kirk and Rachel Abbott

The first event we saw was a discussion between two self-published authors, who had published their crime novels on Kindle, which went on to become best sellers. It was one of the opening-events for the festival and aimed to kick things off for aspiring writers visiting the festival.

There was a good juxtaposition between the authors, as they were different genders, ages, and came from different parts of the country. Hence, they were sort of opposites in terms of their identity. They both also had very different stories of how they got into writing, and differed in their approach to writing.

What I found interesting was that both authors had come up with pseudonyms to publish their books under. Rachel Abbott chose her pseudonym because she thought that it sounded sexy, young, and endearing to readers (she was 61 when she published her first novel). JD Kirk chose his pseudonym because he had previously been a children’s author and did not want his children’s books being linked to his crime novels, and so he felt it was appropriate to have a different name to publish under.

Both authors had published their books back in 2012-2014 sort of time, and at the time there were only around 2000 e-books on Kindle. So, when they entered the Kindle marketplace, readers were desperate for books. Hence, they self-published their books during a window in time where Kindle authors were part of a small pool and could stand out easier. Apparently over the last ten years Kindle has exploded and there are now millions of books on Kindle, so it’s a much bigger market place and not as easy to stand out as a new author on Kindle.

It was interesting to hear about the history of Kindle and how self-published authors have used it as a tool to grow a fan-base of readers and to publish their books without an agent or publisher.

Friday at 7 pm - Secret Histories with Hugo Rifkind, Colin Walsh, and Ellie Keel

The next event was a discussion between three authors who have just published bestsellers. Their books are all set in schools and explore themes of violence, bullying, and crime between pupils. The discussion was very much about the three author’s personal experiences of school and how their experiences led them to want to write fictional stories about school.

They all agreed that our time at school shapes us into the people we become and that our behaviours are very much affected by what we learn and experience when we are at school. I found it interesting to think about how adults seem to have a fixation on high school dramas and stories set in that formative period of life. These authors being an example of people who have grown into adults, but wanted to return to their school days and explore these feelings and memories through the characters in their books.

What I found interesting about this group of authors is that they were a younger demographic (in their 30s to 40s) and they all had a similar story of having always wanted to write a book, but not finding the ability to write their story until they reached their 30s or older. They also mentioned the concept of the “lock-down” book, where they had a time period in which they were at home and had time to start writing.

One of the writers, Colin, also talked about the challenges of writing and how it was a very isolating and long journey. He said that he thought there should be support open to writers who are going through the journey, as it can be very challenging to learn how to write and to prepare yourself for writing your first book. Furthermore, that when you are writing your book, you go into a sort of tunnel where you are trapped with your characters and your internal world is taken over by the story, which can make you feel disconnected from other parts of your life.

Overall, I found this talk very interesting and was impressed by the three authors and fascinated by their experiences of writing their books.

Friday at 8.30 pm - Richard Armitage

The final event I attended was an interview with the famous actor and author Richard Armitage. I had booked a ticket to see the event in person, but the line was so long and stretched up towards the castle, so I decided to watch it via a video link from my accommodation.

Richard was interesting to listen to and he spoke about his passion for stories, and how he has loved stories since he was a young child. He explained that his entire career has been about telling stories and continues to be his focus today, whether that is through acting, producing, or writing.

I was starting to notice a theme of story-telling emerging, which most writers referred to during their talks. I liked the idea of story telling being at the centre of the festival and the art of the writing, which is something I know I’ll be reflecting on after the festival. Another word that Richard used was ‘prolific’ and I noticed other authors using this word during their talks earlier that day. Although I have heard the word ‘prolific’ before, I don’t think I have heard it being used so frequently before, so I think this word must be one that writers or people in the book industry are familiar with using when talking about books and writers. Another word and concept I’ll be thinking about…

Winding down

I felt extremely tired after my first day at the festival. My brain was buzzing from the three events, which had each been an hour long and had delivered a lot of information and ideas to reflect on. Therefore, it took quite a few hours to wind down and get to sleep on the Friday night!

Arriving in Edinburgh

I arrived in Edinburgh at the same time as my parents, who had planned to drive down from the Scottish Highlands and to meet me for the weekend. It was very comforting to be in their presence after the journey I had been on. Once we were settled in, we sat in the sitting room with cups of tea and I told them about the places I had been and the people I had met along the way. I felt very fulfilled and excited by my road trip and what I had achieved!

I have decided to stay in Edinburgh for the foreseeable future as it’s an inspiring place to be and the city is very walkable. So, it feels natural to embark on my writing journey in Edinburgh, where I can seek inspiration and have a change of scene. Now that I was in Edinburgh, I felt compelled to create a writing space where I could start this journey. Hence, I decided to rearrange the room I am staying in and I asked my dad for help with moving a very large old table into the room, which would be my ‘writing space’.

My mum told me that she first came across the table when she met my dad 40 years ago in Manchester, and it was the dining room table in my grandparents kitchen! It’s funny to think that it has been in the family for so many years and now has a new purpose as my writing desk. Although furniture are not sentient beings, they do have histories and can tell stories of their own. The table is now a ‘desk’ and has a new purpose - I hope that it can support me and give me the inspiration I need to develop my writing.

Once I had sorted out my room and the desk, I decided to go for a stroll down to the local library. It was in an old building and as soon as I arrived I saw a poster on the wall which read “Attention writers! Our start writing workshops are taking a break but will return in September 2024”, followed by details for joining the group. It seemed like a sign and an opportunity to meet with other people face to face who also enjoy writing. So, I followed the instructions to sign up for the group, leaving my name and email address.

My first day in Edinburgh was very fruitful and I feel that things are starting to take shape, in terms of a path that I can follow to learn about creative writing! I am excited for the next few days and where they will take me.

Road trip day 3

I had an early breakfast at the hotel before setting off for the final day of my road trip. Once I finished breakfast, I drove around the corner to Barter Books, which is a second-hand bookshop in a converted old railway station. I was very excited to visit because the venue sounded intriguing. When I entered I instantly felt like I had stepped into heaven! There were so many books and there was an old model train driving along the top of the bookshelves - it was so quirky! I wandered through the book stands looking at the different genres of books, from travel to philosophy. There was also an old station cafe where you could have tea. I would have loved to stop for tea, but I’d just had my breakfast, and was eager to press on with the day. However, as I was leaving I couldn’t resist buying a Barter Books souvenir t-shirt and mug!

After leaving Barter books I drove a short distance to the coast of Northumberland to a seaside village called Craster. It was so misty and windy when I arrived, with a very ‘British’ seaside feel. There were only a few cars in the carpark and we had to hover around the visitor centre (which was closed) to connect to their Wifi in order to pay for our parking. Once the parking was sorted I embarked on a walk along the coast to Dunstanburgh Castle. As I walked I saw lots of crows swooping and floating on the wind currents. It was so misty that I could barely see the castle in the distance.

I really enjoyed the walk and found my mind wondering to stories I could write. It was such an inspiring walk and I could let my imagination come to life along the way. When I arrived at the castle it was a ruin, so there wasn’t much to see. I walked around the walls of the castle and was surprised to find hundreds of snails on the stones. Who knew that the castle was now home to hundreds of snails!

The walk back to the car was bracing and when I arrived I was surprised to find the car park full! I must have missed the rush hour and was lucky to get a prime parking spot. A small van had arrived which was selling hot drinks and sandwiches. I ordered their famous Craster kipper in a bun. There is a well-known smokehouse in Craster, which sells kippers, which I had walked past on the way back to the car. It was soo tasty and just what I needed after my walk along the coast.

After I finished my kipper in a bun, I set off driving to Berwick upon Tweed. The only issue was that there was no service, so I couldn’t put the location into my Google maps. I was a little nervous but tried to re-trace my drive back to Alnwick. I must have gone wrong at some point because I ended up on narrow rural roads which were very unrecognisable! I had no choice but to keep driving until I got service. After about ten minutes of being lost on the outskirts of the village, I seem to arrive at the junction of a road and pick up signal. I was able to put Berwick upon Tweed into my maps and set off driving!

I was excited to visit Berwick upon Tweed because a friend had left London five years ago with the dream of running her own shop. Her shop is in Berwick upon Tweed and I have been dreaming of visiting it for years! I didn’t tell her I was visiting, my plan was to drop by and surprise her. When I arrived in Berwick upon Tweed it was bustling with people - it has a very busy city centre. I looked up the shop and made my way there. I was delighted to see my friend Abbi and her little dog Shakira, and her newborn baby. I had a nosey around the shop and bought a couple of gifts. We had coffee across the road from the shop and a big catchup. It was so lovely to see how well she was doing and that the shop was thriving! I left feeling inspired by her entrepreneurial mind and the life she has created in Berwick.

I now had the final part of my drive which was to Edinburgh. It was just over an hour from Berwick upon Tweed to Edinburgh, so not far at all. As I drove into Edinburgh I felt a great sense of achievement at completing my road trip on my own and having such an adventure along the way!

Road trip day 2

I awoke the following morning feeling refreshed and ready for another day of adventure. I checked out of the pub and drove up the road to the local Weatherspoon's called ‘The Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren’ - quite the mouthful! It was busy for a Wednesday morning and had a chatty atmosphere. I have the Weatherspoon’s app downloaded on my phone, so it was super easy to order tea and porridge to my table! Whilst enjoying my breakfast, I looked at my National Trust handbook and decided to visit Crook House in Durham. It was just under a three hour drive and would enable me to drive through the city of Durham and to see views of the famous cathedral.

After breakfast I returned to my car and entered the address for Crook House into Google Maps and clicked ‘go’. I decided to listen to Leonard Cohen on this leg of the journey, which was very enjoyable, as it was a misty sort of day. So, the melancholic tunes reflected the grey weather. I enjoyed the drive, as it was mid-week and the roads were mostly clear. As I drove I reflected on the day before and how much I had enjoyed solo travel. It felt so rewarding to make my own decisions and to meet interesting people along the way, like Tony and Berny.

I made a pit-stop at a service station just outside of Durham to use the toilets and buy a coffee. I got my usual oat Mocha from Costa and returned to the car. The sun had come out, so it seemed like a nice idea to sit outside. I decided to lean on the front of the car enjoying my coffee. Once I had finished the coffee I walked over to the bin, and as I was walking, I felt a sharp stab behind my knee. It was very painful and as I turned to look at my knee I suddenly noticed a wasp! I managed to knock it off with my hand (luckily it didn’t sting me again), but it was such a shock. I’ve never been stung by a wasp before and have always been scared of them! I drove to a nearby pharmacy, but it was closed for a long lunch break, so I gave up and decided to drive on to Crook House.

The final part of the drive was beautiful - I went through the centre of Durham and drove along the river. When I arrived at the house there was the most enchanting wild flower garden in the carpark. I explored the house and grounds, which were all very pretty. There was a vegetable patch, orchard, and views of Durham Cathedral. As I was walking I bumped into an elderly couple called Annalise and Roy, who asked if I was visiting from far. I explained that I had stopped on the way to Edinburgh. They said that they had lived in the area for years and knew the Bell family who used to own Crook House. Apparently the Bell’s used to organise lots of community events and the father, Keith, was great at baking scones! They sold the house to the National Trust when it became too difficult to continue looking after on their own. So, Annalise and Roy were visiting Crook House for the first time since it had become a National Trust property.

After my chat with Annalise and Roy I decided to make my way to the cafe for a cup of tea. I had an apricot flapjack and an early grey tea with soya milk. I enjoyed sitting in the little cafe and reflecting on the day so far. When I finished I returned to the car for my next part of the drive, which was an hour to Alnwick. I decided to listen to the Wu-Tang Clan, as I wanted a more upbeat playlist and I’d been discussing them with my sister a few days before. It was refreshing to drive along nodding my head to the music!

When I arrived in the town of Alnwick I checked into my hotel. I had a cosy room on the first floor, which I immediately felt at ease in. I was advised to book a table for dinner, as they said it would get busy. So, I booked a table for 6.30 pm. When I went down at 6.30, I was surprised to find the restaurant very busy for a Wednesday night. I ordered their steak burger, which was very tasty. After dinner I went for a stroll into Alnwick and wanted to see the castle. The castle is home to the Duchess of Northumberland. When I arrived at the castle it was very impressive with statues. I noticed a few very expensive sports cars drive up and park next to the castle, and a few very extravagantly dressed couples got out of the cars in long fur coats and hats and went into the castle! I imagine they were having dinner with the Duchess!

I continued on my stroll around Alnwick enjoying the cobbled streets and grey stone buildings. As the sun was setting I walked back to the hotel and settled down for the night in my little bedroom. I drifted off soundly after another exciting day on my road trip!

Road trip day 1

It has been 48 hours since I made the decision to embark on my solo road trip. My aim is to drive from London to Edinburgh, with Edinburgh being the final destination. Google maps calculated that this would be a 7 hour journey, which was much too far for me to drive in one day! Hence, I decided to break it down into a three day drive, with two over night stops.

My first stop is the small town of Stapleford on the outskirts of Nottingham. I chose this location because it is a ten minute drive from the David Attenborough Nature Reserve, which is a place I have always wanted to do bird watching! Hence, my aim was to pack up the car and set off on a 2.5 hour drive to the nature reserve, arriving by lunch time.

I must have been tired, as I unexpectedly slept in until 9.30 am! This was not my plan, as I had been aiming to set off early, but instead I took my time to have breakfast and to slowly pack the car. It wasn’t 11.30 am until I was ready to start driving! I am starting to realise that it’s okay to slow down and that I don’t need to be in a hurry, as I am now working on my own time.

When I set off driving the road was clear and I enjoyed listening to Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department album. It was good to have time to sing along to the songs and think about the last week and my plans for the next few days. You could call it ‘car therapy’! I decided to knock out the 2.5 hour drive in one go with no stops, which meant that when I arrived at the David Attenborough Nature Reserve, I was running straight to the loo!

After the loo, I was able to take a look around the visitor centre and buy myself a mocha with oat milk (my favourite). I sat out on the terrace watching the swans. The sky was moody and the water was still. I suddenly felt like I could breathe a big sigh of relief, as I had made it! This was a glorious moment - just me, the swans, the reserve, and a big sense of excitement. The world was my oyster and I was excited for the afternoon ahead.

I decided to set off walking with my coffee, as I was eager to start exploring the reserve. However, as soon as I stepped out of the visitor centre and was looking at the map of the area, an elderly man on a zimmer frame appeared. He looked very fragile and I wondered why he was on his own. I approached him and he asked if I could help him to call a taxi. He was with his brother but had lost him and did not have a phone. I called a taxi and we had to wait 25 minutes for the taxi to arrive. I felt like I couldn’t leave the elderly man on his own - his name was Tony. So, I sat with Tony in the carpark waiting for the taxi to arrive.

Tony told me that he used to be a warden at the reserve and had spent his career looking after the grounds and creating habitats for the birds. I was so impressed! He told me he had been involved in building a ‘tern table’ for arctic seabirds called ‘terns’. He said he has lost contact with his bird watching friends but still enjoys visiting the reserve with his younger brother and having coffee at the visitor centre. I was captured by Tony’s story and excited to have met a retired warden during my visit. The taxi soon pulled up and I said goodbye to Tony, thanking him for sharing his story with me. I was now ready to embark on my walk feeling even more excited!

As I set off on the Kingfisher trail, I stopped at the first viewing platform and noticed a woman standing on her own looking over the water. I said hello and joined her. We got chatting and she explained that she was local to the area and enjoyed walking around the reserve. She was a primary school teacher and this was her last day of summer, so she was enjoying a walk before returning to school the following day. I explained to her that I had just resigned from my job and was embarking on a new journey. Her name was Berny and we decided to walk together.

Berny was familiar with the different birds, flowers, and plants, which she showed me along the way. I felt very lucky to have bumped into her and to be joining her on a walk. As we arrived at the first hide we heard excitement from within - there was a kingfisher hovering right in front of the window and diving for fish, it was then taking the fish back to it’s nest to feed it’s babies. Two bird watchers invited us to sit on their bench and showed us where the king fisher was. I watched in amazement as this beautiful bird hovered right in front of us, its wings beating so fast and then dove into the water catching a fish between its beak. I watched it fly with the fish and land on a wooden post, before flying to its nest. The king fisher repeated this multiple times giving us bird watchers a real spectacle to watch!

The afternoon was wonderful and I spent three glorious hours strolling and chatting to Berny, as we spotted different birds and wandered through the Attenborough village next to the reserve. The reserve closed at 5.30 pm and we said goodbye, and I set off to drive to the nearby town of Stapleford (which Berny jokily told me is known as ‘Stabford’ by the locals). As I arrived in ‘Stabford’, I looked out my window wondering if I would be safe here for the night. I saw the pub where I was staying, the Horse and Jockey, and parked on the side road.

As I crossed the road and entered the pub I was relieved to find a relaxed atmosphere and the pub owner, Gilly, waiting to welcome me. He knew who I was immediately and said “are you Holly?”, to which I confirmed I was, and he said he’d been expecting me. Gilly took me into the little garden on the side of the pub which was full of gnomes and flowers, before taking me upstairs to see my room. I had the little bedroom at the front of the building above the pub - it was cute and I felt I would be cosy here for the night. I settled in and then went downstairs to the pub to enjoy their pizza night. I order the Arizona pizza, which was a pepperoni and bbq sauce pizza, and enjoyed looking at my National Trust Handbook in preparation for my journey the next day!

Following my dreams

Today is an important day, as is every other day one could say, but today is especially important because I have made the very big decision to resign from my full time job and to take time out to focus on my writing. Over the past six months I have been thinking a lot about my desire to write and to explore my creative side, but it has been challenging to do this when working full-time in an office based role. So, I have made the decision to take time out from work to really focus on me and my desire to write!

Now that I have made this first very big decision, more decisions follow:

How do I start writing?

What will I write about?

Do I need to learn about the craft of writing?

These different questions have led me to realise that I am going to need some sort of guidance and structure. So, I have started by ordering a creative writing student handbook from Amazon, which I hope will get me started with learning the basics about creative writing. I have also signed up for a ten-week creative writing course, which starts in October, as I think being part of a group and learning from a tutor will give me a foundation of knowledge to stand on. It is an online evening course, so I will be able to access it from anywhere, which means I can travel while participating in the course.

Whilst waiting for my book to arrive and for the course to start in October, I have decided to embrace the freedom which is now mine, and to go on a solo road trip! It feels like a natural next step to mark the beginning of this new journey by doing something different which will challenge and inspire me! The prospect is rather daunting as I have not driven long distance by myself before. However, the thought of the open-road and freedom to explore is calling to me, and perhaps this is the independence and confidence boost I need to commence my writing journey!