Today I had the pleasure of attending an online Zoom meeting where Gemma Seltzer spoke about the different ways of writing. By the end of the session I came out inspired by her words, encouraged to work harder, and more inclined to get writing.

The session started off with Seltzer telling us all about the original inspiration of her writing, and the events leading up to her writing journey. Seltzer grew up playing with her Grandfather’s ventriloquist dolls, ‘Some were large, some were small. Some were just her their heads!’ We were told about how as a child, these dolls were nothing but fascinating to Seltzer, and this is what she wanted to write about later on in life. Gemma Seltzer was informative, showing us multiple photographs of her Grandfather with the dolls to let us imagine her childhood for ourselves. This initial story that started off the talk was very charming, and I’m sure the fact that Seltzer wanted to include part of her family history within her work inspired others to perhaps look at doing something similar.

Seltzer had so much to tell us all, so many stories regarding her writing and the opportunities it has given her. I felt as though the speaker used her time efficiently, letting her audience know that there are many ways to express a story. Seltzer mentioned different writing projects that she’s completed, ranging from the short 100-word stories that stemmed from real life anecdotes that members of the public would tell her, and expanding to her full-length novel ‘Ways of living.’ According to the synopsis on Seltzer’s official website, the novel explores ‘what it means to be a modern woman inhabiting the urban landscape.’ It was made clear that most of the speaker’s work is set in London because of the familiarity of the setting, and the broad picture that London can provide.

Seltzer showed us that there is no need to limit ourselves to one form of writing, and that change is okay when editing your work. It was even explained that, for example, if a novel isn’t quite working as the characters have too much to say, then maybe the work is better suited for a screenplay or play. This particular piece of advice I’m sure stuck with many listeners, there’s no need to limit ourselves to one form of writing. There’s no correct way to tell our stories, but perhaps exploring the different forms before settling for one in particular could be a more useful way of writing.

Towards the end of the speaker’s event, Seltzer promoted her online presence, including her social media profiles and her website with a direct link to her latest novel. Although I found this useful as her words were interesting and I personally wished to find out more, I was also reminded that writing itself is just a small part of the publishing process, and promoting and knowing the right people can get you that step further.

I really enjoyed Gemma Seltzer’s speaker event, and felt like a lot of information was covered in a short amount of time. Seltzer was to the point, and wasted no time in letting us know that it’s okay to explore other options in writing, there is no perfect writing form.