SUSAN TIPPETT BRAITHWAITE

What’s your dream job? For me, this question triggered a cascade of memories, each one a step towards my ultimate dream. It all began when I was about seven, crafting a local magazine with a friend in our bit (Scots for area). We filled pages with news, puzzles, and stories, selling our handmade creations door-to-door. Little did I know, this was the start of my journey to becoming a writer.

Make Believe is Murder

Fast forward a few years, and I was immersed in the world of make-believe murder mysteries. We called the game Special M or Secret M or something really original like that ?.

One of us would create a murder mystery that the rest would have to solve. We loved the game initially, but it started getting stale after a few weeks of playing. But eventually, it was my turn to create the mystery. I’d been planning my story from the moment we played our first game.

Fuck, that first time hooked me. Seeing your story come to life in a weird play. I suppose you’d call it LARPing today. I had so many ideas for more sessions and never wanted to stop, and luckily, my friends loved the twists and turns I’d added so much that they wanted me to stay in the creator role.

Musical Interlude

Eventually, my teen years led to the music bug biting me hard. I was a soprano, sang in multiple rock bands, and played a few instruments with varying skill levels. But I got bored playing and singing other people’s songs. I took that frustration and put it to work. I grabbed a pad and pen and set about writing my own lyrics.

The songs were pretty good. One got me an A for composition in my Higher Music exams. Another I gave to a friend for his set while he toured mainland Europe—he repaid me with the tackiest souvenirs and t-shirts he could find. ?

The Hollywood Dream

Post-Navy life introduced me to the world of screenwriting. I dove into UCLA Extension’s courses, learning the ropes of feature film writing. I loved screenwriting so much that I extended my studies into TV writing. As I mentioned in a previous post, trying to break into Hollywood from Scotland is difficult, but add into the mix romance and suspense, and you’re shit out of luck.

The Kindle Revelation

Full disclosure here: I was not a big book reader. At school, I lied about reading the books—apart from Sunset Song and Jane Eyre… oh, Mr Rochester, you have a lot to explain ??.

My problem wasn’t that I didn’t want to read; I couldn’t physically do it without throwing up. I don’t have a clue what it is, but I can’t look down at a book or a jotter (notepad in English?) without feeling violently sick. (I have a weird angle board thingy that allows me to work without the ill thing happening now.)

With the advent of non-fiction in PDF documents in the early 2000s, I became an avid reader of those. But, oh, man, the moment I got my first Kindle and could easily hold it at the right angle for me… I played catch-up. I devoured fiction at a rate that shocked me. I’m a very slow reader, but I found myself finishing a novel every few days.

Embracing the Writer Within

That reading spree introduced me to the romantic suspense genre. It was like being hit over the head with The Hammer of Obvious (or an epiphany if we’re being smart and stuff) – I was meant to write romantic suspense novels.

I knew I had found my storytelling medium and genre from the first word I penned in this genre. My journey through magazines, games, music, and screenplays was not just a path of discovery but my training ground for becoming the writer I am today.

A Dream in Progress

Now, as I write tales filled with sex, lies, Scots, and spies, I see that being a writer has always been my dream job. No matter the twists and turns, it’s been a journey of embracing all the forms storytelling can take.

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What about you? What’s your dream job, and how has your journey shaped it? Share your stories in the comments – I can’t wait to hear about the paths you’ve taken or dream of taking.

Stay awesome,

Susan x