What makes me read, What makes me write?

As I release another book this month and smell the waft of my chicken pot roast, make it’s way upstairs to where I am sat at my desk writing, I open the word document that I left, late last night, that is to be, my next book.

And as I did so, I read over a few pages of what I had written last night and started to think about how I will develop this character or how shall I interlace that plot with that sub-plot. I then focussed on what I wanted to express in the story , how I would do that and what the reader would want to read. By doing this I immediately and simultaneously placed myself at the feet of the question, that I ask myself a lot when writing a book: What makes me read, What makes me write?     I find this a really interesting question as it put me in the shoes of both writer and reader at the same time, which is hard, as I am loyal and faithful to both. Should either one really hold more importance or responsibility than the other?

So what is it firstly, that makes you want to read? For me, I read for different reasons and I guess I am not alone. I always have an e-reader, on me and would prefer it over my phone any day if I had to choose, as reading fiction allows me to disconnect from the world where time and eternal deadlines have in many ways become our virtues and morals … By reading I escape the mundane, day to day things, I disengage from any stress or unpleasant, over demanding situation and I experience something else, go somewhere else, feel something else, I can be someone else, embodied in the character of the book and that can be a very exciting place to be!

Think of the most engaging and interactive book that you have read and think about how you felt whilst reading it and how you felt when you finished. It is that knowledge, that journey, that you have shared with so many other readers and with the author that make you feel also part of something that other people who haven’t read that book, experience. When I write, it is the same. I don’t write anything and think well I don’t care, if no one likes it. I do care, I want the reader to interact with the story – hopefully in a positive way! Reading is a journey of discovering and building relationships.

Most of all, I think reading as well as escapism, is an education. An education of feelings, facts, thoughts, cultures, identities and realities. All told through different eyes, in different environments with endless possibilities. I have lots of books on how to do this and that and youtube is also great for widening this however there are bookshelves in every room in my humble abode and I even have a mini one in the car! But for me the books that I love the most, are the ones that take me somewhere else.

What makes me write? I often have two to three fiction books on the go and that is because as my mood changes, I want to read something different to accommodate that. I find that all writers have a particular style of writing – me included; some days I would prefer to read how one writer writes over another and that is because, in each book that I read and that you read, there is a voice. There are the voices of the characters and then there is the voice of the author. The voice of the author is conveyed by not just what they write – what I write, but how they write it and this, therefore, determines how you read. It is the dimension that either encourages you to form a relationship with that author and the characters within that story or the action that makes you want to put it on the ‘to be’ divorced pile. Writing is, like reading, a journey of relationships.

Either way – it would seem that what makes me read, is the reason for what makes me write, escapism, expression, discovery and so much more, that only the covers of the book will eventually reveal and each time it is a unique and exciting experience. These expereinces are personalised by the individual interpretation of every single reader.  I really love writing stories that are engaging, interesting and imaginative that people will enjoy.

Although, the best part about being an author, in my opinion, is connecting with readers. My passion can’t be realized without you, and I genuinely want to know you and brighten your day.