I’ve always been a storyteller. When I was young, kids would crowd around me in the playground and I’d spin tales of vampires, werewolves, ghosts and more. Most would consider me a disturbed child, but my friends couldn’t help themselves, they’d huddle around me every break time like cavemen around a fire.

When my teacher told me about the school’s friendship themed story competition, I jumped at the chance to flex my imagination and win a gift certificate to WH Smiths. For inspiration, I looked at my friends, my brother’s friends, and even asked my Mum about hers. Nothing inspired me. The deadline for entries was fast approaching, yet my exercise book was hauntingly blank. I feared I would never write my entry, let alone win a shopping spree in WH Smiths.

Three weeks to the deadline, my family went on their usual annual holiday to Wales to stay with my Dad’s aunt. Late one afternoon, we walked to her neighbour’s farm. I, intent on finding an animal to pet, wandered off alone towards the fields. As the Welsh sun slid behind the horizon, I found myself before a scarecrow made of rags and straw. I asked him his thoughts on friendship. I imagined his reply. ‘My job is to scare things away, so I have none.’ And just like that, Inspiration struck! Scribbling for the next few days, I crafted a story about that scarecrow. I knew the majority of entries would be about friendships, but mine would take the subject from a different angle - loneliness. I was bound to win!

I didn’t win. My story did, however, gain my teacher’s attention. Standing next to his desk, I awaited a torrent of praise for writing something different. I didn’t get praise either. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have written about an evil scarecrow marauding through the Welsh countryside hunting down potential friends – but I took a chance on telling a different story. And, even after an uncomfortable parent’s evening, my parents told me they were proud of my out of the box thinking.

Approaching life from a different angle has served me well through the years both in business and as a writer. Being different doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you, it means you have a story worth telling. Whether that story is inspiring, heart-breaking, educational, or entertaining I know I can help you find the best way to tell it.