Why do I write? I would love to be dramatic and say, “But writing is breathing to me! Ink is my blood, paper my skin,” and other such metaphors but honestly I began writing seriously as it was the only artistic thing that I was any good at. I was a very, very amateur guitar player and certainly wouldn’t be the next Kurt Cobain. I had no interest in Art but I loved to read. When I was younger I had problems reading but since I got into the habit of reading regularly I’ve been a ravenous reader except, ironically enough, in the last two years where I’ve dedicated what used to be my reading time to writing. I couldn’t stand the thought of working in an office for the rest of my life until I died a grey sludge in a suit and tie, which was the place my business studies degree was taking me. So I decided to become a Creative Writing student to hone my skills and give me the time I needed to write my first novel or two.
I always had an over-active imagination and was prone to daydreaming. When I was younger I had written comic book stories in the vein of Tintin and Asterix the Obelix so the desire to create my own world, to escape the mundane realities of life, was always there. The fact that you could actually make a career out of it (if you were very good and fortunate of course) was the icing on the cake really.
I write therefore for a number of reasons; because I want to get good and make a living out of it, avoiding all office work, or a job where I have to get up/go to bed early. Because I want to give other people the same sense of escapism as I felt from reading such books as Harry Potter and the Hobbit. But equally important, potential money and small notoriety aside, is the fact that when you really get into a story you are writing its bloody good fun! And after you have finished you feel as if you’ve achieved something, it’s time well spent and I would certainly recommend it to anyone whatever their literary ambitions.
I completely agree on the artistic front! You've written a sound conclusion there too, and the entire post had a few funnies for good measure. Next please!
ReplyDeleteThe next will be a big rant on Ian McEwan :P
ReplyDeleteGreat blog - never knew the bit about the comics :) There's a lot I can relate to here ... over-active imagination, to see writing as a form of escapism etc. And of course, "it's bloody good fun!" It's also quite refreshing to know that (like me) writing isn't a life-or-death deal for you. Funny and heart-felt in places :) Great job!! x
ReplyDeleteI sense some hesitation in your consideration of writing as a career when you use disclaimers such as 'if you were very good and fortunate'. John Cheever suffered much anxiety over the quality of his writing and, indeed, spent much time writing in formats that he did not care for just to exist when things were very bad. Of course, he also acknowledged from an early stage that there was not much else that he could do well and (thankfully) perservered with his fiction. So, the question is, how bad do things have to get for the writer to consider himself a 'writer' destined for no other career? Is it necessary for you to visualise the fruition of your artistic ambitions for them to be realised OR do you just need to be very, very hungry and very, very hopeless at anything else? :0)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say hesitation Kass, but more a journey in discovering what it really was I wanted to do and what I wanted to be in life. I was trying to keep to the word limit too so I didn't have a chance to get into too much detail. I dont think saying you can make writing as a career if you are good and fortunate is a disclaimer but the sad reality of it, to make a proper living off writing alone you do need to be very good and also very lucky. I think that if you love to write and if you are very good with it and are very lucky in tapping into a subconsious desire of the reader, for instance as JK Rowling did, with almost every child (and indeed adult) wishing they could go to Hogwarts after reading the Harry Potter seres, then thats all you need really. It depends on the person some write to live, others write because they like it and want to make a living out of it because they can't imagine doing anything else for a living. I am now of the later. :)
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