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Thursday 5 January 2012

Start Write Now...

Winston Churchill once said that every conversation is an interview. If you follow that logic then everyone who puts pen to paper is a writer; the 18-month old who scribbles her 'signature' on a birthday card, the six year-old who records  'What I did at the weekend,' in his school book, or the teenager who re-invents history in the hope of gaining an A star GCSE.

'Oh, I can't write,' is a phrase I've heard frequently over the years from friends and colleagues who, unlike me, have a brilliant head for figures, make light work of their tax returns and think nothing of giving a  lecture in astrophysics while planning their next dinner party.  They can write, of course. What they mean is they'd rather not; they're too busy doing everything else.

Who am I to complain? After all, writing has been my sole income for half of my working life. For others it is merely an add-on.Take film actress, comedienne and television presenter Maureen Lipman. She is also a writer, the latter sometimes added to her credentials as a mere afterthought.

Writing a book (and Maureen's done that, too) is an act of love, akin to bringing a child into the world. It makes you laugh  and cry - full  of joy one minute and dogged by despair the next - but you never stop believing in what you have created.

That, in short, is why I decided to become a novelist. And I wish good luck in 2012 to every would-be author who  feels the same.




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Written with passion as is your novel! Keep the next one coming