Not something that magically appeared out of the blue, but something you planned for, enrolled for, sweated for. You had to work for it, to be dedicated, even obsessed, if you wanted to succeed at the creative life. Hill, while making it quite clear that dancing – or music, or writing – was the most satisfying thing one could do, also made it clear that it didn’t just happen. These books tell the story of Veronica Weston, who – through talent, hard work and determination – makes it to the coveted position of prima ballerina for Sadler’s Wells ballet. In particular, I read and reread A Dream of Sadler’s Wells and Veronica at the Wells. I read all of Lorna Hill’s ballet books I could get my hands on. I was wrong, of course, but we all make mistakes.)īut with the family I had, and the school I went to, and the friends I made there, how did I ever come up with the idea that a creative life might be available to me? I would live a bit first, and then I’d have something to write about.

I decided, at around 12-15, that my life was too boring for me to be a writer – yet. The height of my family’s ambition was to see us graduate from university. I lived in an unremarkable suburb, and my generation was the first in my family to have tertiary education available to them. I had a lovely, stable childhood, broken only by bouts of ill health. (I didn’t do anything about this decision, at the time. I’ve been thinking about my own decision, at age 12, that I wanted to be a writer. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, for family reasons, about how and why someone makes the decision to follow a creative life, rather than one more sensible and profitable. This post is by Pamela Freeman, author of more than 30 books and director of the creative writing faculty at the Australian Writers' Centre. How to Build a Successful Freelance Copywriting Business.

A Dream of Sadler's Wells by Lorna Hill