Writing is easy?

I’ve seen a few writing memes on Facebook, nodded sagely at how accurate they are, then scrolled on.

Most of us, at some point or other, have faced the “but what work do you do?” or “that’s a nice hobby” or even “it must be nice to have the time to sit and write all day :)”

What non writers don’t understand, is just how hard this life can be.

“But you choose to do it!”

Well, no, not really, Honey.

Characters and scenes don’t just pop into my head at random times, they bombard me every waking moment.

Out shopping, I imagine everyone’s stories. I wonder what their life has given them, what its taken, what happens next. Walking the dogs, it’s the same, but add mentally describing the scenery, hoarding good lines away in the hope that by the time I get to sit down and write, I’ll remember the exact chain of words. (I rarely do). Listening to music pulls me into another world, drowns me with ideas.

Washing dishes, gardening, cooking, even falling into a depression so dark and deep I don’t know if I can crawl out of it, I’m infused with the need to write, to empty the constant chatter that is the soundtrack to my life.

So no, its not a choice. For some it may be. But for me, its a compulsion, a need, almost an addiction. I get headachy, bitchy, depressed when I don’t get to write for any length of time.

Then, when the house is empty, and I know I wont be pulled from the flow, I set my music going, prepare to let the dam of ideas burst. Sometimes it does, and words pour and flow. Other times it’s agony just to get a paragraph down. Sometimes all I can do is delete what’s not working and try again.

It can be crippling, trying to describe something you see or feel so clearly, so others can see or feel it as well.

Most of the time, I stare out the window, asking myself the same questions I always ask.

Why do I do this?

Will anyone read it?

If they do will they like it? Or is it just crap, spewed out from a damaged mind?

I don’t know.

But to have people look at me like I’m a spoiled, overindulged child because I get to sit at the computer each day and write makes me angry, then sad.

Where do these people think all their TV shows come from? Their books? Movies?

Of course not all non writers are like that. The majority, I think, see us as mystical, most likely weird, creatures.

I don’t mind being thought of as weird. I kinda like it.

I just don’t like being branded lazy by people who have no idea how hard it actually is to write a book.

Happy reading and writing everyone