Q. What do you do? A. I’m a Writer… in fact I’m a Resolute Writer. Q. Eh?

By John Stevens 

Resolute Books at a recent meet up in Bristol

I feel I should explain myself.

Approximately 25 years ago I started to dip my toes in the business of writing poetry, something I had more or less abandoned for the previous quarter century. I also dabbled in writing children’s stories.

A step up came along in the 2010s and I ended up self-publishing a non-fiction book When the Rabbis Cry about God’s purposes with Israel after Jesus’s resurrection and ascension and a good look at the intervening history between the first century and now. Why not start with an easy and non-controversial subject!

I joined the Association of Christian Writers (ACW) around that time, and, years later, attended the British Christian Writers’ Conference 2023 held in the gorgeous surroundings of the city of Cambridge and overheard mention of Resolute Writers. It all sounded very serious. Resolute by name, resolute by nature?

One thing led to another.

The real story involves my tussles with social anxiety. Loose arrangements had been voiced amongst conference delegates about meeting at a local pub in the evening. Walking back to the conference venue, Ridley Hall, from where I was staying in Christ’s College, I had to walk past the pub. As I was on my own, and slightly reclusive by nature, I hesitated, unsure whether to go in or not to go in?

The thought of a nice cool beer at the end of a warm and busy day did help overcome my hesitancy and I found myself sharing a table with some fellow conference delegates, some of whom were Resolute Writers. Intrigued, I made a mental note to enquire further. The impression I had from the few faces I remember from that evening was Resolute by name and Resolute by nature? Yes…but.

But not a furrowed brow, library-study oriented, academically strenuous bunch of people but a group of writers that will down a G&T with the best of them, swap hilarious stories and tragedies that occur in life. Resolute turned out to be a less than 20 writers who have grouped together to form a mutually supportive ‘collective’ and to publish high quality books.

Some months passed before I emailed Ruth to ask if I might be a good fit for the group; I had started to write a historical spy novel by that time.

I had to submit some of my writing and to my astonishment, and relief, I was accepted.

Part of the point of writing this is to shed some light on the whole writing process and how membership of Resolute Writers has equipped me to write and to publish…well, publishing the book in the near future.

Step One was the initial submission. Step Two was a submission of a longer piece from the novel and a pivotal chat with Claire Dunn, herself an established historical fiction writer. Her observation was that I was ‘information dumping’, a nasty condition. That insight led to a far greater appreciation of the need to plunge the reader into the inner emotional and mental world of each character as well as build the plot. Step Three was to employ (without remuneration!) my daughter to be a Beta-reader. I made (several) corrections and changes as a result of her eagle-eyed critique. Step Four, submit the finished manuscript to three Resolute Members for quality control feedback…and make (several) further edits. Step 5, submit to The Editor…also a Resolute member. This is as far as I have reached.

Beyond editing, there will be cover design, blurb, and decisions re: publication and ISBN registration, a book launch and other forms of marketing. 

From conception to birth is not a sprint.

During this process, I have had direct help from Claire, three Resolute Writers (Lindsay, Leslie, and Andy) providing excellent feedback, editing via Liz, and general encouragement from many others. And have given my feedback on two other Resolute Author’s manuscripts.

This weekend we met as Resolute Writers in Bristol for a one day gathering. Previously, most sightings had been on Zoom, so it was great to actually meet everyone in 3D.

Whatever else writing is, it is a team effort. Yes, one spends countless hours writing, researching, rewriting and so on – all mainly solitary pursuits. Numb bums, too much coffee, never enough cheesecake, and maybe an evening tipple to celebrate pen-down moments are all par for the course, but, if you are contemplating actually publishing a book, a play, or a collection of poems, you will have to venture out of your isolated-writer-bubble and speak to other humans.

Remember, I have confessed to social anxiety. I’m always on the look out for Mary Poppins and her magic wand to circumvent the necessary, but the truth is that we have to lose our life to find it.

I wish you well. And I hope I’ve answered your question: Eh?

And, what do you do?