Aimup - Writer

Writer - Petronella Breinburg

What's your job?
I am a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. I was also a lecturer in higher education - I'm retired now.

How did you get started?
I was an imaginative child and made up stories that many people believed. I won a writing competition when I was eight years old.

When I started work I became a teacher. I started teaching infants, and then went to Teacher Training College in the Caribbean. Then I studied for a Teacher's Certificate and a degree in the UK. The two subjects I specialised in for my education degree were Language and Literature. My project was a portfolio of short stories written by me.

How did you change something that was fun into a job?
After five years of trying to get 'My Brother Sean' books (the first set of picture books showing black children in a positive way) published, I got a lucky break. A young editor took a chance on the books and now they're published in five languages (American English, Japanese, Portuguese, Norwegian and Swedish).

What does your job involve?
I have now had published some 30 children's books and stories in women's magazines, had six plays performed and written non-fiction material for academic publications. I write in English, but also in Dutch and Sranan, my mother tongue.

What do you like best about your job?
Making up stories set in unusual places. Many of my stories are set in Caribbean countries. I like to write about ghosts.

What is the worst thing about your job?
Having to persevere - sending a story or poem to a publisher and getting it slapped back on my doorstep.

What should I do if I want to do what you do?
Develop a creative mind and good control of whatever language(s) you want to write in. You must write for pleasure or interest - don't think about how much money you can make from it.

Practise imagining things. Make up stories in your head. Or force yourself to dream a story (yes you can make yourself dream stories).

Consistency is important. Write something, even a bit of nonsense scribble, every day for perhaps just ten minutes. If you can't manage this, try writing once a week - Sunday morning perhaps. Keep a notebook with you all the time and beside your bed, so when you get an idea you can write it down.

Who do you look up to in the area in which you work and why?
I don't look up to anyone in my area of work. I never needed a role model! I have good friends who are successful writers, but I don't read their work. I don't want to be tempted to copy it.