How I Became A Writer Part 2

The messy middle section

Hello and welcome to Part 2 of How I Became a Writer. To summarise Part 1, I did a BA in English and Theatre Studies then decided to take a punt on an MA in Creative Writing. I graduated and got a terribly boring job in Didcot, and the only creative bright spot in my life was that sometimes I went to poetry slams.

So! It’s about 2009 and I start going to Hammer and Tongue, the Oxford poetry slam. Like a lot of subcultures, this is a small and very welcoming scene - if you’re interested enough, you’re basically in. I started doing open mic slots, and sometimes winning them, and getting though to the next round. I started being occasionally offered slots that were a bit longer than an open mic slot. I would sometimes work the door to help out. I would sometimes act as cohost to help out. 

All of this sounds very easy looking back on it and honestly it kind of was.