Writing—you either love it, hate it, or see it as nothing more than something we must do in life to communicate. What inspires you to write?
While I love to write, it doesn’t come easily to me. I have to work at it—a bit like kneading bread—I massage the words, then let them rest so that they rise appealingly to gift the reader with something delicious they will not only savour but crave for more. That’s what I strive for. It doesn’t necessarily mean I hit the mark every time.
What Inspires Me to Write?
There are three main things that inspire me to write:
- Meeting people that want their incredible life story to be told.
- Experiencing or seeing something amazing that I feel would be beneficial to share with others.
- Sharing what I’ve read and researched for the benefit of others.
The Massive Benefits of Reading
Reading opens so many worlds and lets us see inside many brilliant minds who are willing to share life’s lessons. I think of literature as an eternal jigsaw puzzle that is never quite complete because people can keep adding to it to make the image bigger. A writer can spend endless hours reading and gathering information so they can write their own piece of the puzzle, which then prompts another writer who reads it to add their own piece. And so it goes throughout history. Knowledge has no limits and learning is eternal. What an honour to be a part of it, especially if your writing is acknowledged.
Is Writing a Spiritual Experience?
My modus operandi changes as I learn. The ideas in my mind are processed quicker than my ability to write them down. I vomit everything out and then sort out the mess. Sometimes, sentences are beautifully constructed in my mind and just as my fingers are poised, ready to type, some annoying interruption wipes it clean out into the abyss. Was losing what I thought was a perfectly constructed sentence meant to be? Considering I believe writing to be a spiritual experience where I am the vessel channelling the message through a higher power, maybe these interruptions are not coincidences.
‘And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, …’ – Exodus 31:3-4 NKJV
You may wonder why I think writing is a spiritual experience. The reason is that usually, when I reread something I’ve written over time, and it reads really well—and I mean ‘really well’—I actually don’t recall having written it that way or having written it at all—except the giveaway is that my name is on the document. Sometimes I reread something, and I’m embarrassed at how bad it reads. It’s clear I was not tuned in to a higher power then. How amazing the art of writing is.
Turning Text into Texture
I remember being taught in my creative writing unit of my Master of Arts degree how to turn text into texture. It’s an interesting phrase. I compare it to writers being artists of the written word. The texture we seek with words is similar to an artist choosing the right shade of colour. Our canvas is an empty page, and our palette is our mind’s dictionary. An artist sees an image and takes a mental photograph. That image is then transformed onto the canvas. A good writer can portray that same image to his reader by crafting words—text into texture—so the reader can see the image in their mind.
The Importance of Research
I’ve also learnt the importance of thoroughly researching a topic so that when the information is transferred onto the page it’s seamless and believable. Keeping the text tight, yet flowing, avoiding unnecessary repetition and making sure the meaning is clear. I might not get it right every time, but that’s why writing is a team effort between you, your beta readers, and editor.
My desire is to hone my writing skills by continuously learning the craft so I can be a better writer. Looking back on my writing, I’ve learnt that some pieces work well because they are interesting and believable, whilst others don’t work because the message is not clear, not well researched, lacking in texture or it loses the reader’s interest in the first paragraph. A good story should firstly intrigue you with its title, then stir your intellect or emotions, so it stays in your mind long after you’ve read it.
Stories That Stay in Your Mind
Mrs. Kelly’s Monster by Jon Franklin is one of those stories. I squirmed throughout most of the story, almost stopping on a few occasions because the tension and graphic description was getting too much for my weak stomach. What made it even harder to get through reading it was that at the time I had been suffering unusually severe headaches for months. I was hospitalised twice and was undergoing several tests. This is a perfect example of where a reader can relate in some way to a story and become intrigued by the outcome.
Franklin’s writing is so precise, so descriptive, and well explained in layman’s terms that it would put anyone off having brain surgery. When it comes to writing with the five senses in mind, the story portrays sight, (the hospital set up) smell, (burnt flesh) and sound (heart monitor). Tension is created through a sense of time, which is stated with precision, punctuated by the pop, pop, pop of the heart monitor. The final blow comes with defeat. We are so used to stories with happy endings that this one leaves you almost demanding a rewrite, especially for me, as my head was still throbbing as I read the last sentence— ‘The monster won.’ I called my doctor and asked if there’s any chance I can make my appointment earlier. The story affected me. It’s a good story, even though I hated reading it.
At the risk of sounding as if I have a morbid fascination with death (which I don’t) another story I found fascinating was At the Morgue by Helen Garner. The title hooks you in out of pure curiosity of wondering what lies behind the doors of a morgue. The story is completely intriguing in its vivid description of the autopsy procedure. There is even a sense of coldness. You feel like a fly on the wall that shouldn’t really be witnessing this almost sacrilegious procedure. There is such a sense of an invasion of privacy. The writer’s description of the young man lying naked on a cold stainless-steel table whilst all his insides are being ripped out of him and his skull is being replaced with crumpled up newspaper seems like a desecration of a human’s body. Garner mentions the young man’s family ‘somewhere out there’ mourning their loss, yet completely oblivious to the stripping down of their loved one’s body. It’s a very thought-provoking piece that is also very disturbing. Having read it, I would find the death of someone close to me even more distressing knowing they will have syringes stuck in their eyes and their skulls stuffed with newspaper, despite them being dead.
On reflection, perhaps the training during my Master of Arts degree is why my writing is bold. It inspired me to write truthfully. People’s stories are incredible for a reason. If you sanitise them so as not to offend, shock, or outrage, then you’ve lost the power of the story to make the reader feel.
The truth will set you free. Let that inspire you.
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