Why I love being a writer

I've always loved to read and I've spent countless happy hours with my nose stuck in a book. I'd say "it doesn't get any better than that" but it does. Because creating a story and the characters who will live that story is the ultimate joy for me. I love being a writer! 

So, here it is early January in Cincinnati. Now, keep in mind that I am NOT a winter person. Looking out the window across from my desk as I type this, I see bare trees, gray skies and a dreary landscape. And, it's cold out there. But, like reading, writing offers me a way to escape. When I close the drapes and immerse myself in my current WIP (work in progress), Murder at the Mine, which will be the fifth novel in my Small Town mystery series, everything changes.

Suddenly, it's a hot and humid August day at a gem mine in North Carolina and all of my senses are evoked. I can feel the sun beating down on my head as I trudge up a hill, shovel and bucket in hand, along with my main character, Kate, and her fiancé, to dig for emeralds. Perspiration drips down my face and I swipe at it with the back of my hand. I’m no longer in Cincinnati; I've been transported to another place. 

But escape isn’t the only reason I love being a writer. God has given each of us a dream and I thank Him every day for making my dream come true. The art of creating gives me the opportunity to share bits and pieces of my life and experiences with my readers – without revealing what is based on fact and what is solely a product of my imagination.

Imagine this. Five writers sit at a table. I give each of them the same list of characters and the same plot and I ask them to write a story using that information. I'm sure you know what will happen. Each writer will write a totally different story in a totally different way. They'll each use their own imagination and their own voice to do that and the end result will be five stories that have little resemblance to each other.

Why? Because, like our fingerprints and our DNA, each of us is unique, one of a kind, and our writing styles will reflect that. Each writer pulls from his or her own experience and knowledge to create a story that no one else could possibly write. And, it isn't just about the experience and knowledge we each have. It's also about our individual perceptions of and reactions to those things, all of which makes the art of creating a beautiful and exciting adventure. 

The books we write are pieces of us. There's nothing more satisfying to me than creating a story (and the characters who will live it) that is unlike what anyone else on the planet has written or could write. I wish I could say that everyone who reads my books will love them but, of course, that's not true because our reading tastes differ too. Some people will enjoy and appreciate my books and others won't. But I write them in my own distinctive way, the only way I can.

I've heard that, when you find the thing you're most suited to do in life, you'll feel as if you've come home. When I write, I'm home.

Anywhere you want to go

Whenever I travel to a new (to me) place, I search for a local bookstore where I scan the shelves, looking for mystery novels by local authors. I do this for two reasons. First, I think it's important to support writers everywhere and second, because when I come home and return to my daily life, I can open the pages and escape to the place I've just visited. It's a way to hang on to the "vacation" mode.

One year, I visited Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, my favorite of the three. I found a bookstore there and purchased Murder on Martha's Vineyard by David Osborn, a local writer. Back at home, I read the book and enjoyed it so much that I looked up the author on Amazon and was pleasantly surprised to see that he'd written more books in the series. I read all of his books and was able to "stay" on Martha's Vineyard a lot longer than my vacation time allowed.

Another year, I went to Wilmington, North Carolina and I loved exploring the city. So much history! The old Cotton Exchange, which now houses several delightful shops, including a bookstore, intrigued me as did the horse drawn carriages and the theater where John Wilkes Booth once performed. I bought two mystery novels by Wanda Canada, Island Murders and Cape Fear Murders. When I got home, I read both books and felt as if I were still sitting on a pier, gazing out at the Cape Fear River, watching the boats go by. And, trying to solve a murder.

But I haven't always been able to find a book by a local author while on vacation. When that happens, I try to find one by someone who isn't local but who is very familiar with the area. For example, I purchased Folly by Bill Noel, a resident of Louisville, Kentucky, a couple of months after I got back from Folly Beach, South Carolina and, because the author had spent many summers in the area, it felt like a "local" had written the book.

I could give you many more examples but, in the interest of keeping this post shorter than one of my novels, I won't. Anyway, you get the idea.

Even if you don't travel or can't get away this year, you can still take a vacation in your mind. Although I've never been to Peru, I went on an archaeological expedition there when I read William Doonan's American Caliphate. I explored an old ghost town in Arizona with Old Murders Never Die by Marja McGraw. And, I journeyed to the New England coast with J.R. Lindermuth's The Limping Dog.

I've also visited Bariloche, Argentina with author Evelyn Cullet, seen the heather-covered moors of the Scottish Highlands thanks to Amy Reade and traveled Route 66 through the Mojave Desert with M.M. Gornell's novels. I could list hundreds more.

Books can take you anywhere you want to go at any time of the year and you don't even have to go through airport security or fill your gas tank.

If only

How many times have you said these words? “If only. . .”
“If only I had more time. . .”
“If only I had more money. . .”
“If only ___________.” You can fill in the blank with whatever you chose.

Well, you get the idea. The point is that, when we use the term “if only,” we’re wishing things were different than they are. I’m pretty sure that most, if not all of us, have uttered the phrase at one time or another. Reality is not exactly the way we want it to be so we wish for it to be different.
  
When I was a little girl, I looked forward every week to watching Walt Disney Presents on TV. I loved all the segments, especially the Davey Crockett episodes (Fess Parker was my first love) and the Mickey Mouse Club. But my favorite part was the beginning of the show when Jiminy Cricket sang, “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires, will come to you.” 

Back then, I had a habit (still do) of saying, “I wish. . .” And my father would always respond, “Wish in one hand and you-know-what in the other and see where you have the most.” In other words, don’t live in the Land of What Isn’t. Live in the Land of What Is.

As an adult, every time I hear myself say, “If only” or “I wish,” I think of Dad and I have to smile. His was great advice but something I have yet to master. Because, sometimes, I’m not all that keen on reality. Which, I'm sure, is one of the reasons I’ve always loved fiction and why I knew, at an early age, that I wanted to be a writer. 

Of course, like it or not, we all have to deal with reality but sometimes we need a break. When I read a good novel or work on writing one of my own, I escape to another place: the Land of What Could Be, a truly remarkable place.

Why I love being a Writer - Part 1

I've always loved to read and I've spent countless hours with my nose stuck in a book. I'd say "it doesn't get any better than that" but it does. Because creating a story and the characters who will live that story is the ultimate joy for me. I love being a writer! 

So, here it is early January in Cincinnati. Now, keep in mind that I am NOT a Winter person. Looking out the window across from my desk as I type this, I see bare trees, gray skies and a dreary landscape. And, it's cold out there. But, like reading, writing offers me a way to escape. When I close the drapes and immerse myself in my current WIP (work in progress), Mistaken Identity, everything changes.

Suddenly, it's a hot, sunny July day on the beach at Fripp Island, South Carolina and all of my senses are evoked. I can almost hear the waves crashing to shore, see the seagulls soaring through the bright, blue sky and feel the warm sun on my face. I've been transported to another place. All of my day to day problems, including the weather, are gone. I've escaped!
 
The Temptations pretty much summed it up. "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May."

Of course, there are lots of other reasons why I love being a writer and I'll talk about them in future posts. If you're reading this and you're a writer, what do you like most about being a writer?