On Writing

January 13, 2015 by Ray Morgan

On Writing

If you're a regular follower of my blogs (of course you are!) you may have noticed that I like writing. At 30 years old, I'm proud to say that I've been writing since I had the dexterity to scribble with a crayon, closely followed by the ability to bash the letters on my Mum's Smith-Corona typewriter. Yes, the paper would get stuck, yes, the ribbon would sometimes run dry and yes, if I made a mistake I had to Tipp-Ex the error and WAIT for it to DRY before resuming my awful plotless stories.

But I have always loved it. Writing is pure escape. Writing does for me what people who get into long-distance running say. It clears the mind, it transports you into a meditative state. It's freeing.
When I chose to study Creative Writing at university, I had no idea what a total blast it would be. Firstly, my diary was as empty as my bank account - at times I would only have 3 or 4 seminars a week. The rest of my time was dedicated to writing. In some classes, the teacher would encourage us to go outside and write a piece there and then on a shadow, or a tree. We would be given a theme to write on, and next week we'd come back with it, read it aloud, and await the class's response. It was so great. I studied journalism, poetry, writing for children, and the big bad novel.

I had fantasies of renting a harbour-side flat somewhere in Europe, with a typewriter and a pack of gauloises, and a carafe of something - then I remembered that I wasn't a writer from the 1920s. But there is a romance in writing. It's an elusive beast. You think of something from the inside of your head and you thrash it out. You invent whole towns, conversations, love affairs, and people. They belong to you. You don't rent them out, or borrow them - they're yours.

I'm writing something at the moment where the narrative is in first-person present tense. It's very easy to think you *are* that person. I feel as though I know her, that sometimes I am her. I'll look at something in a shop and think "Ooh, she'd like that" - then I remember she isn't real, and start to feel a bit crazy. But I love it. Writing is my ultimate relaxation, my favourite pastime. I'm lucky enough to write for my job - not so much creatively, but it's writing nonetheless. If you've never tried it, I would heartily, heartily recommend.

My top 5 suggestions for what to write:

1. Poetry isn't elitist or unreachable. You can write a few lines on how the sky looks today and BOOM! You've started a poem
2. Think of a character and describe what they keep on their bedside table. This is one of my fave ways to develop the sense of a person
3. Write a short story about your earliest childhood memory - after all, we should "write what we know"
4. Review your favourite film or album. It's interesting how creative passion can make you
5. Write a letter to your 16 year old self. You'll be amazed at what you come out with.