Writing, but why?
I started writing at a really early age. Admittedly the writing was not always scintillating or coherent but still, I wrote. My first proper poem I wrote in the car on the way to my grandmother's funeral in Adelaide and I remember it still;
Sleep darlings sleep,
The night is falling all over the world,
Sleep darlings sleep,
The night is falling all over the street
The night is calm and peaceful,
The moon smiles at me,
The fireflies light my way,
sleep tight my darlings, sweet dreams.
My first "book" I wrote and illustrated and is was titled "In the wors" (wars), and basically detailed all the minor injuries I'd accumulated during a particularly clumsy week. Like I said, maybe not the most gripping story you'll ever read but for the child me it was very important that I documented my dramatic week.
I always loved reading and I think my love of writing grew out of that. I'd make my parents read to me for hours and got frustrated when they had to go do other things or when I had to go to sleep. After I learnt to read I spent a tonne of time doing it. So much so I actually had to get glasses because my young eyes were dealing well with the small print.
I read for adventures and knowledge and fun. At uni once I had a huge debate with someone in a writing class (I took writing as an elective to complement my degree) about why you should read. The main view I have on this is that you should read if you want to read. The person I was arguing with said that you should only ever read books which challenge your view on life and force you seriously rethink all of your opinions on any given subject, and that there was very little point reading anything which didn't do this. To put it bluntly, I thought - and think still - that was ridiculous.
Of course sometimes I read to expand my views and challenge my beliefs but for the most part I read for the reasons I mentioned before. Because it's fun. And writing is the same.
Reading a lot of course means your imagination grows and eventually it reaches a point where it starts to overtake the stories you're reading and you start making up stories of your own. I think everyone has stories they could write but maybe not everyone has the time or the inclination to write them down. And of course that is fine because if, like me, you write for fun then the worst thing would be for writing to become a chore.
And maybe that's a catch. A double edged sword. Because if you want to become a writer and write and publish novels then there's a risk that writing becomes pressured and a task you have to do rather than a hobby you want to do.
When I started writing Wildfire I had a vague idea that one day I wanted to publish it. One of the reasons it took ten years, apart from having an endlessly busy life around it, was because I never wanted to force myself to write. In fact, I'm not sure I could force myself to write. I did get better at finding inspiration when I had none.
Unfortunately because writing and reading is somewhat of an escape (and sometimes procratination) for me, inspiration often struck at inappropriate times; when I was sitting in exams or trying to sleep for an early start the next morning. There's nothing worse than drifting off to sleep and being struck with an incredible idea but your notebook is on the other side of the room and you're dark and cold but it's ok because you're sure you'll remember it the next morning, only of course you don't. Over the years I got used to having a notepad and pencil by my bed and once mobile phones actually became useful I switched to that.
Anyway, speaking of writing, this post is starting to get longer and longer. I might write more on this again one day but for now to summarise. I write because I want to, because I love and, if I'm lucky maybe because one day someone will read my writing and they will love it and it will give them the same happiness it gave me to write it.
- C