Possibly one of life's biggest questions (well, my life at least), not to mention one of the hardest to answer.
Like so many others, I spent much of my childhood scrawling stories in messy, crayon handwriting over folded sheets of paper which I deemed 'my books'. More often than not, they were left unfinished; with the attention span that I had (and still have, to some degree) this was completely understandable. I could barely focus on one activity for more than a half hour without needing to move on to something new, except for one aspect of my life: reading. I would read for hours when other children my age would refuse vehemently to sit down with a book for even ten minutes.
I was proud that I could stick at my reading. I loved books. I love them still. And I can vaguely remember, somewhere in the back of my mind, that question that sparked everything: could I make the stories that people read before they go to sleep?
So, I wrote. And I write. For who? For me, for books I loved, for books I will love, for anyone who cares to look at the words I put on the page.
It's hard to say without coming across as pretentious, but I think that writing has always been within me - it's not something I became, it's more like something I always have been.
And on that note, please enjoy this arrangement of notes that I love very much.
I loved and LOVE books too! I fins it really sad that modern children no longer have this love for books. I mean I love books now, but when I was a child they were simply magical! The most fun ever. I think that may be partly why I want to become a writer, because I feel a responsibility to get these people reading!!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this very much, I was always reading as a child (and still am most of the time!) and one day I decided to try creating stories. I also have lots of unfinished scribbles from when I was younger. I agree with Genna too, it is sad that children and also people in general don't appreciate books as much as they once did. I feel that in a world that's gaining more emphasis on technology we shouldn't forget the more traditional forms of entertainment or deem them to be any the less exciting because you don't have to switch them on!
ReplyDelete'Could I make the stories that people read before they go to sleep?' Or, indeed, the ones that keep them awake... :0) Ah, yes, books as objects of visual pleasure and provokers of visceral delight. I see the benefits of the Kindle but it doesn't smell like a book does...
ReplyDeleteI can relate to those little scribbles. I wrote a lot of various things growing up, always having an intricate plot for all of them and yet never going further than the first chapter if anything. Perhaps they're merely stepping stones to something greater. Who can say?
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