Welcome to this week’s blog hop. Today the topic is:
“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” – Flannery O’Connor. Authors have many reasons to write. Why do you write what you write?
It all started back in 1969 when at the age of 11 I won an inter-schools’ writing competition. To my surprise, the headmistress called me out in front of the school at assembly time and presented me with a certificate. I’d written about life at home with a budgerigar called Bombhead that my father had taught to curse on cue. The bird was never in its cage, and would flap around my grandmother’s head every time she visited and scare the bejaysus out of her.
I was lucky enough to attend that school and to be encouraged in creative writing. My mother was also a writer and I guess she handed down some of her talent to me. During my twenties and thirties I wrote poetry and the odd short story, but mostly I was too busy raising my sons to write much. It was only in my fifties after the boys had left home that I started writing and self-publishing for a hobby.
I write about what I know and what interests me. I love writing about human frailties; addictions and family dramas in particular, but I also enjoy reading and writing humorous stories and paranormal tales (the paranormal has been a lifelong interest of mine). I’ve been lucky enough to work in a hospital for 20 years, and have learned much about the human condition through typing thousands of clinic letters dictated by a myriad of consultants covering many different specialties. I think the most interesting letters I’ve ever typed were dictated by psychiatrists.
I’m a realist, and real life interests me, especially what makes us do what we do. I find human behaviour fascinating, and how most of it stems from the kind of childhoods people have had. I’ve incorporated this in ‘The Daughter-in-law Syndrome’, ‘Repent at Leisure’, ‘For the Sake of a Child’ and ‘Mind Games’. I’ve written paranormal novels (‘Finding David’ and ‘Partners in Time’) based on many years of attending demonstrations of clairvoyance, and novels based around work and leisure activities that I have personally taken part in (‘Examining Kitchen Cupboards’ and ‘The Pilates Class).
I write because I love doing it, and also in the hope that readers might enjoy my novels too!
Why do other blog-hoppers write? Click on the blue button below to find out. You can also add your own blog to the hop, or just leave a comment.
Rules:
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dgkaye said:
Once again, how similar we are with why we write and what we write. 🙂 xx
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Stevie Turner said:
Why does that not surprise me (lol)? x
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dgkaye said:
Lolllllll xx
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Astrid said:
I definitely understand psychiatrists’ letters are among the most interesting ones. A few years ago, my former psychologist accidentally E-mailed a letter concerning a patient of hers to me (a former patient) rather than I’m assuming another Astrid. I was tempted to read it but obviously deleted the E-mail without even opening it.
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Stevie Turner said:
We can learn so much from these letters.
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Pingback: Why I Write What I Write #OpenBook – A Multitude of Musings
Stevie Turner said:
Thank you.
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petespringerauthor said:
Well, I’m still new to all this, but I’ve decided that writing novels for children (my first novel just got edited) is my new way of teaching. I want to embed subtle life lessons for kids without being preachy.
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Stevie Turner said:
Good for you, Pete. Books are a great way of getting your message across.
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Ridofdepression said:
nice and good work
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Stevie Turner said:
Thank you!
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Ridofdepression said:
Welcome
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Phil Huston said:
What Richard said. However, a man driving through Oklahoma, intoxicated, without a license, in a stolen car, with a bag of radioactive uranium dust and a rattlesnake in a repurposed aquarium, a 44 Magnum on the passenger seat and a trunk full of meth is not someone I would randomly dream up. I’ve been close a few times, but reality beat me.
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Stevie Turner said:
Oklahoma, where the sinned go driving down the lanes…
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richarddeescifi said:
I’ve always thought that truth can be stranger than fiction. Life has so many moments of chance and serendipity that it would be wrong not to take inspiration from them. When people say “you couldn’t make it up,” I wonder what it is that they’re not seeing.
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Stevie Turner said:
I don’t find inspiration any other way unfortunately.
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aurorawatcherak said:
We who have spent time transcribing psychiatrist dictation get a front-seat view of the nature of human nature.
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Stevie Turner said:
Indeed.
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daryldevore said:
I also won a writing competition very early on and was surprised by it as I didn’t enter. My teacher entered my piece.
It is much more fun writing about people than numbers.
Tweeted.
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes it is!
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P.J. MacLayne said:
Humans are weird and wonderful and fascinating.
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Stevie Turner said:
Amen to that.
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Phil Huston said:
Obviously not ALL.. 😉
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robertawrites235681907 said:
A great post, Stevie. I always enjoy reading about your writing process.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Robbie.
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beetleypete said:
Shared on Twitter, Stevie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Pete.
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