Words

Words in your soul

“You’ve got words in your soul”. A lovely way to describe the bibliophile.

One of my earliest memories is of getting some “pocket money”. We didn’t often get pocket money. Probably only three times in all my school years. I was one of seven with only one parent working. We lived 8 miles out of town on a farm. I was somewhere between five and eight years old because we left the farm at the end of grade three.

Anyway, this shilling (yes, it was the olden days before decimal currency) was a lot of money in those days, a veritable fortune! Well, I left the school grounds and went shopping. I spent all pocket money on, ta da, a Little Golden Book called “Out Of My Window”. It began with “Out of my window I can see, my Daddy coming home to me…”

Well, I went back to school and was showing my friends my brand new book, the first one I’d ever bought with ‘my own money’. So, what happened? Someone dropped their paddle pop (icecream) on my book and left a big juicy chocolate mark all over it. I was devastated, to say the least. I may even have shed a tear.

I remember my Mum from the time I could read, going crook on me for reading after lights out. I’d stand up beside the door and read using the light which came through the crack between the door and door jamb. If I’d had a torch it would have been under the blanket with me.

Reading was my escape, my solace, my friend, my way of living a million lives. Boarding school books, The Bobsey Twins, Enid Blyton – I read them all. Well, every book I could get my hands on. Every second day, if not every day, I went to the school library to change my books.

Things change, life goes on but books are a constant. These days I don’t get to read as often as I ‘d like to, but words and story are a big part of my life. Working as a writer and an editor is my dream job and I’d like to thank my clients for helping me make my dreams come true.

Stories

Stories to tell

Reading the stories of great artists is luxury at its finest. These are the stories which endure, stay with us, characters which become as real to us as anyone we know well.

Such stories become blockbuster movies, stories which intrigue later generations as much as they did our forebears. Becoming such an artist is hard work.

There is much to learn about finding and crafting the raw material into the greatest story we can conceive. Then they must be told well.

Some are natural born storytellers, most of us learn the hard way. Reading great stories, examining them, pulling them apart, looking at the pieces, and seeing how they fit together to create the beautiful whole.

Both aspects of becoming an artist take time and commitment, determination and talent. Great artists practice to the point of obsession. Few of us will get there on our own.

Along the way to greatness, there is also an element of good luck.

My wish for you is a perfect combination of all the above.

Story

That's what fiction is for...

As a reader, I love learning about people, places, situations and lives I will never have the time or opportunity to live for myself.

One of my favourite books which is an example of this quote about fiction is Richard North Patterson’s “Balance of Power”. It’s an exploration of the gun debate from the points of view of characters on all sides of the issue. I loved trying to understand different points of view, some so foreign and opposite to my own experience, getting some balance on such a huge debate.

Fiction gives a writer the chance to put the characters through their paces, torture them a little with heartwrenching conflict before ensuring they get what they long for and ultimately deserve.