If you really do have aspirations to become a writer, the
first thing you have to remember is that writing is a process. You don’t write
an exam and voila you are a person of words. Writing is a sensibility. You are
curious, you want to express yourself, you have a creative bent, you love words
and the arrangement of sentences and paragraphs. You love the magic it creates,
and you love being part of that magic. Writing for me started at age twelve, as
many of you know, and for students out there who have a real interest in it,
why are you waiting until you grow up? Writing doesn’t happen to those who do
not have a natural curiosity and have no wish to explore. Writing happens to
those who are open to the experience and to those who allow themselves to be
transported to other worlds.
What it takes
A true writer has the madness inside. And you can have it
too if you want it and want to give yourself up to the experience and believe
you can do it. Writing, for heaven’s sake is not about not starting a sentence
with but and all those things teachers tell you are wrong. It is about that and
much more. If you have the magic and the desire, the style will follow and the
correct English will automatically become part of your writing process. The
idea is to be inspired to write and to always call on that inspiration to go on
an adventure. Remember, as a writer of fiction you are God and the director all
in one. You can be called upon at any time of the day or night to explore a
certain idea or a story; in any event you will be called upon for an
arrangement of words.
Dream your way to success
As part of your arsenal, reading novels and books is very
important. It not only provides knowledge, over time you develop your own style
as you become more familiar with the sound of words on the ear. There is music
in writing. Always test the sound of your words by reading aloud. The best
writers are the ones who are curious and read all the time and write what they
know about and have a lot of information to flesh out a good story.
To the students at Christel School who are reading Fiction
Tips to prepare for our meeting in two weeks; it will be interesting to see if
in addition to reading what you were asked to if you had also scoured the site for
similar articles on writing. Here is an assignment: write a short story on
anything of 500 words. Use the link below and include your email address when
you reply.
For earlier and other posts
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