English was my best subject and I always loved what used to be called composition. Being told to read a book was and still is my idea of bliss! I didn’t start seriously until after my 30th birthday, not long after my son was born. Whether it took two major milestones like that to get me going I can’t honestly say. Maybe it was a sub-conscious thing.
I love where I live.
That is in a simple bungalow with a garden leading down into a copse. Out in the garden it is very easy to imagine being in another world. The Trouble With Mother came together like pieces of a jigsaw. I heard Eileen’s voice saying “I’m not going to kill it” and knew I had to write about her.
One great thing about writing is the more you do, the better you will get.
You will realize where the “boring” bits are and get better at cutting them out. You will get better at knowing when your first draft of a story looks too short or long (always best to go for the latter, it’s easier to cut than pad and padding shows).
There are markets for short stories. On the web, magazines, publishers like Bridge House go for anthologies. Keep your eyes open and invest in Writers and Artists Yearbook. There is an online edition of that but I find it easier to have the book version to refer to. And you can claim the cost of the book back against tax as a professional volume if you’re “in business as a writer”.