As a kid, I used to watch Storybook International and in the opening credits Larry Grossman would sing “I’m a storyteller and my story must be told”. This has always stuck with me and now I feel it’s my time to bring out my inner storyteller and tell the stories that have been running around my head for years. For this reason, I started writing down all my ideas into note pads and now I am in the process of writing a fictitious novel.
Let’s face it when most people envision a “writer,” I guess most of them see a quirky recluse, hunched over a desk with a typewriter in some cabin, crumpled paper strewn about as they obsessively work on the next great bestselling novel. But to me, writing is so much more than that. Writing is thought put to page, which makes all of us writers — even if you don’t think you have the talent to spawn a beautifully written masterpiece.
I find there is a certain discipline required to create interesting written work that demands the individual be receptive and focused on finding new sources of information, inspiration, and insight. I find inspiration in everything I see on a daily basis, I try to observe the world around me and apply creativity to make it seem and feel more interesting. Further inspiration comes from books I’ve read, podcasts and radio shows I listen to, dreams I have had, and movies I have watched.
Simply being a curator of good ideas encourages deeper thinking, research, and the desire to “head down the rabbit hole” in order to find unique ideas that fuel my creative juices. I believe that a good writer is someone who knows how to communicate; they have to take vast amounts of information and refine it to make things easy to understand and spot the unnecessary fluff that can be left out.
Writing for me enables me to bring the thoughts from the depths of my imagination and flights of fantasy into reality and allows me to make them visible on paper. Writing for me is a creative power.
Let’s look at the current facts, I am working on my first novel so have not been published yet and so I also have no historic audience of readers. However, this has never stopped me from considering myself an aspiring writer and author wannabe. The reality is that I know I like writing and I have always wanted to share my stories with the world so those notions alone spur me on and keep me motivated.
Some people meditate regularly to clear their mind and find inner tranquility. Writing, for me, is my form of meditation. Being alone with my thoughts and words helps me relax and stay focused. In general, I can usually be distracted easily, but when I write, there is no outside; everything fits perfectly, and my body and mind harmonises and speak a common language.
Writing is my way of expressing myself, writing to me isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting laid, or even making friends. Writing is about enriching the lives of those who will read my work, and enriching my own life, as well.
For me, writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. By writing I put order in my world, give it a handle so I can grasp it. I write because life does not appease my appetites. Writing helps me to discover myself, to preserve myself, to make myself, to achieve self-autonomy. By writing down my thoughts, ideas and imagination I’m convincing myself that I am worthy and that what I have to say is not a pile of shit. So ultimately I can conclude that I write to purely please myself. It’s a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily my demons, but of my divine discontent with myself and the world around me.
Writing has been life-changing for me. It has helped me to become more self-aware, find my professional focus, and meet great people on the web.