Julia Gainanova Biography
The story of one "bottle". My name is Julia Gainanova, and I am a former alcoholic. More precisely, it was to them until one day I decided that everything was enough. I seemed to drink my barrel - not quite, but more on that later. I got rid of addiction thanks to books. At first it was a simple hobby - reading always liked reading, and then his own literary work. Now I am a writer and a literary mentor, and I want to share my experience.
She graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of MGIMO and worked for more than 20 years with the word: she taught a creative letter in colleges and universities, engaged in journalism, edited other people's books. The path to literary mentoring and writing was not easy, but it could not be otherwise. To say something to the world, you must first understand your place in it, and this needs life experience.
I think I accumulated him until I was ripening to write my first book - “The bottle”. The cover of the book “Bottle” yes, it really about what you thought about - about my experience in combating alcoholism, which I overcame, including telling my story on paper. You can even joke - changed one dependence to another. In a sense, this is true: becoming a writer without a burning desire close to obsession is almost impossible.
Although the most important thing for the writer is discipline. In the second month of work on the book, I broke. The bottle that I considered a long -forgotten past returned a few dozen pages later. The work stopped. The memories were harder than it seemed at the beginning. Probably, then I should turn to a mentor who could support me on this path. Instead, I complicated my life.
Later I realized that many famous writers were supported by mentors. They shared advice, ideas, inspiration and helped with publications. Today, having two published books and one preparing for release, I also have a mentor - Jamie Morris. Thanks to him, I was able to revive projects lying on the shelf for many years. Jamie often compares a literary mentor with the guide: “He knows the territory in which you move, sees pitfalls and remains objective.” I can add: a mentor sees you from a party that you yourself cannot see.
Many writers are successful on their own. But if you feel that you are stomping in place, although you dream of a breakthrough and want to enjoy not only the process of creativity, but also the publications of your books, then the mentor is necessary.
At a minimum, he will speed up your path to the goal. The main thing is to make sure that you are making the maximum benefit from cooperation. Literary mentors are the same creative personalities, and everyone is unique. It is important to find the right one. The trust between the mentor and the student is of key importance, so it is worth starting with a trial session. The experience of a mentor in your genre and successful students are also important.
After all, each area of literature has its own characteristics, and not every mentor is able to teach different genres equally well. So the opinion of the mentor should be of particular value for you. The task of a good mentor is to teach the ward to be independent. This is the main criterion for success.