So you want to write? Good for you, now go do it and have fun with it! You won’t regret it, I promise 
I talk to many people about writing. In fact I ask most people I know if they have ever written and if they would like to write something? I’m surprised by the number of people who would like to write but don’t have the time, the ideas, whatever it is that holds them back. I know some really smart people, way more intelligent than me. I believe most of them would be amazing writers.
If someone had asked me that question say five years ago I would simply have shut them down and probably explained how I only like to read. I would have done this even though all my life my mind has been so full of ideas and swirling around in a maelstrom of imagination the answer seems bizarre to me now. It would never have been from fear, I just quite simply never have believed I could write.
Like as if writing needed an English degree or some complex understanding of books one doesn’t get from just reading! Isn’t that answer just plain stupid of past me? Of course I could be all prophetic and sit in the lotus position (if my knees would take it) and say something wise like “the grasshopper was not ready for the next step” but that is such a cop out in my honest opinion. The truth is I always saw an Author as someone on a pedestal, this all knowing wise soul, yeah you get the picture.
Right now I wish future me could have explained to past me the benefits of writing. The enjoyment of finding solutions to situations, facilitating characters the opportunity to solve problems in the virtual world, which of course, exists in my head. Actually finishing a book, seeing people light up when they talk about it and knowing I brought that enjoyment to them. Not a TV show, movie or another author, me! Wow, that’s a seriously cool feeling.
For me the urge to write has become pretty much overpowering, I simply have to write. I’ve released the flood gates and now I daydream constantly. The complex (it really is quite full on) plot for Balance had my subconscious on overdrive and still does as I’m writing book 2.
So saying, it all starts with some words on a blank page, then a sentence. A paragraph and hey cool, I was on the second page and so on. I happily admit the writing; grammar and dialogue were simply terrible but so what? I was getting my story out and oh my, what a story it is! The more I write the more I can see these faults and train myself to limit their occurance.
All you need to know to get started is how to type and a fairly simple; trust me that’s all I have, understanding of English and grammar. Apart from technical content for work, I haven’t written anything since school way back like 20 years ago. Even then I found the schooling process very limited. I always thought it was mean or kind of disrespectful to dissect a novel and analyse it instead of just enjoying what it was trying to say. Sure, you go to school to learn so I suppose the system just does what it does. Still, I always thought school could be a little more imaginative but then that’s just me, Mr. Imagination talking.
Anyway back to the topic. Lately I’ve research a lot of writer’s blogs and FAQ’s. I’m talking horror, romance, fantasy, sci fi you name it, and they’re all out there on the world wide web. Surprisingly they seem to say the same thing; these people write and learn through the process. I so get this concept! By that I mean they put words down on a page. Some do detailed outlines for novels, spending a lot of time researching before typing a single word. Others just leap in and let the story take them. Both methods are completely valid because they work for that author.
Whatever works for you is what matters!
So how do I write then? Well, I get the characters right in my head and then let their personalities and reasoning come out through a situation which of course is the scene I am writing. That’s it, sounds easy huh, in a way it really is. I trust in my subconscious to bring out the right parts roughly when I need them. I simply preload it with a concept from my high level outline and wait for the mouse to turn the wheel. Occasionally when I’m driving or in the shower or at work or at lunch or whatever, I get a specific feeling. I know what it is now, for a while it felt weird but it’s simply the beep on the microwave, my idea is ready.
That might offend some people who feel they have to control everything but it works for me. I’m not trying to say that would happen for you, who knows? Do you?
Why not find out?
If you’ve ever had that spark to write but never did for whatever reason, why not give it a go? What have you got to lose? Turn off the TV, turn off facebook, and make a tea or coffee fire up the computer and just start. You too might trigger your subconscious and who knows produce a short story or a novella or like me, hit upon a full novel. How cool would that be and more importantly if you don’t your art will never be created and that would be a sad thing!
