Why I Write

Updated and expanded chapter from earlier thoughts

Why I Write

I have been a published writer since the age of seventeen when I began writing my own music news and reviews column for a local newspaper. It has indeed been something I have always found somewhat comforting. In my early teens, my love of music united with my love of writing and I used to write song lyrics. I also wrote poetry at various times in my life where I felt I needed to express myself, or simply work my way through emotional turmoil. Yes, I never really took to writing joyous songs or poems – which may indeed have made me an excellent writer of country songs! I did write one rather terrible joyful tune though, simply labeled ‘California’, a place I had never been to and have still never been to. The song really was simplistic, cliched, and awful but somehow found its way to a publishing house in London, picked from, I believe a contest entry which, although did not win the prize was deemed worthy of publishing. I have a feeling it simply lay in a dusty office until the place closed down and it found itself in the trash. One thing I can say without fear of correction is that it was not California Dreaming or something even remotely close to that timeless classic and would have done little for the tourist board of that state.

One incident that may have directed me towards a life of writing though happened to me in my first year of high school. Now, first of all, I was not a big reader so reading assignments were never my forte. My teacher for English, Ms Sheldon (who hailed from Australia) would give us book assignments every month. The task was to summarize a book we had read and give our thoughts on it. Of course, since I did not read books in those days, I found more creative ways to come up with my monthly assignments. One I remember vividly was a result of watching a movie on television. This in itself is nothing astonishing however, at age 13 my ‘book assignment’ was about a book called ‘Valley of The Dolls’ by Jacqueline Susann. A book (or in my case a movie) about the downward spiral of a group of girls struggling in the entertainment industry in New York City heavily laced with sex and drugs. I have no idea how I perceived what I was watching and how I translated it into a book review for my first year at high school. I cannot remember the grade I received but I wish I had seen the teacher’s face when she saw it!

However I digress, this was not the incident that started my life as a writer, strangely enough. It was the same teacher and the same class though. For indeed, Ms. Sheldon gave us a series of topics to write about based on a book we had been reading in class called ‘Walkabout’. It was the story of an Aborigine assisting a brother and sister trying to survive in the Australian bush. The best one was to be published in the annual school magazine. My story was called, ‘Lost in The Bush’ and its impact was so great that not only was it published in the school magazine, but Ms Sheldon read it out to the class picking out bits that stood out to her as being particularly noteworthy. Now it was never a great thing to do in class to be chosen as someone to have a spotlight shone on them for their work. It usually resulted in ridicule from your peers rather than applause and I had carefully avoided that situation throughout my entire school life. Becoming the class clown or simply not raising your hand to answer questions made you infinitely more tolerable to the other kids. I say tolerable as I was never popular, even as a clown. The fact that my work was so appreciated did make me feel good though and I was very proud to see my work published for the very first time, albeit in the school magazine. So, I think that is where the seeds of being a writer were planted. It wasn’t even the recognition it was the appreciation shown for something I had done by an adult for the very first time in my life.

Now having established myself over the years as a writer, I have to say that I actually enjoy the process of editing, whether it is my work or someone else’s. I find the process similar to composing music, and perhaps words are to my eyes as music is to my ears. Several years ago, while I was involved in the bodybuilding world, I would often help put together music for the evening posing routines at bodybuilding contests. There competitors have either one and a half or three minutes (depending on whether they are amateur or professional, or doing a guest spot) to do what some might call a dance routine comprised of various poses. I would use an app and blend parts of a song or songs they had chosen, sometimes adding sound effects (thunderclaps were a favorite) to form a piece that would entertain the audience. This would be performed at the evening show when the judges usually had their minds made up as to placings so it really was just pure entertainment for the crowd.

In my days of writing for magazines, I contributed to a vast array of genres. I have written for music magazines and newspapers and served as ‘showbiz editor’ for a magazine where I focused on movie and video reviews as well as some celebrity-based articles. I have also written for Personal Development companies and magazines, written courses for an online school on subjects from NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to Feng Shui and Diet and Nutrition, and many other obscure things in between. I had a stint at ghostwriting for a well-known California-based health guru (who introduced me to the world of computers by refusing to accept typewritten work). I even wrote for computer magazines reviewing laptops and of course wrote for numerous health, fitness, and bodybuilding magazines and nutrition companies. It wears me out just typing it out, but yes, I did it.

During all that time though I always tried to bring something new to the table. I tried to let everyone who read my work feel like they were indeed having a conversation with me. Many people would say to me, in a somewhat astonished tone, “You write just like you talk” or indeed after an interview, “You wrote just what I said”. These things always surprised me as who else would I sound like and why would I write something other than what you said? The mysteries of journalism. In my time as a fitness/bodybuilding writer, I strayed away from the tedium of talking about diet and training as much as I possibly could. I avoided contest coverage as contests always bored me to tears. I wanted to tell stories, I wanted to know why people chose this activity to focus their energy on and what they thought they were going to get out of it. There were indeed some great stories to be told and no one else was telling them so it gave me something of a niche. It also made it less boring for me as a writer. Yes, I know I chose to enter that world and it did hold my interest for a few years but when that interest faded it became invisible to the naked eye. I should have left long before I did, but like many competitors, I did enjoy the slight fame and recognition it gave me in that small world, so I stayed long after I completely lost interest in it. I was learning nothing and the opportunities for creativity were nonexistent.

You see writing is a creative pursuit and while I am forever a nonfiction writer, I do enjoy being creative with my facts and my telling of real stories. Now I am sure that is what every pathological liar proclaims but I am hoping you get where I am coming from.

When I used to write articles, I would usually write them fairly quickly. Once I had the opening line or two the rest seemed to flow quite easily. I always put some thought into the closing sentences though as I always considered them to be the most impactful that would stay with the reader the longest. I always used to say that people will remember how you began and how you ended but a lot of what you said in between will be lost in the memory. So, when it came to articles my entry and exit were always of prime importance. I always tried to write in a conversational style even when reviewing technical data in an article. I tried to make everything easy to understand and compelling to read. I also like to detach myself completely from a piece I have written when it comes to reading it back or editing it. I want to read it as a stranger so that I might be able to feel if it has the impact, I wanted it to have. There is still nothing more satisfying than that feeling that you have written something that hits home and impacts the reader. Now that may sound egotistical but let me again say that by that stage, I have detached from what I have written and it is as if a stranger has written it. Indeed, I will go as far as to admit that in the years I have been writing I have often clenched my fist and yelled, “Yes!” after reading something I had just completed. Thank goodness I have pretty much always lived alone!

I just finished a book by

Patti Smith

called Devotion (Why I Write) and the final two lines read:

“Why do we write? A Chorus erupts.

Because we cannot simply live.”

This is very true, as I have written for all of my adult life and I cannot imagine my life without the power of the written word.