Why I Write

Whenever I've asked any of my writing friends how they got into writing, they usually just say, "Oh, I've been doing it all my life," but there is often some reason why they wanted to write. I know quite a few people who do it because it sounds intellectual and want to be different though I'm sure we all know that for those people, it's a short-lived fantasy. Once they've been going for a few years, they can then be taken seriously. 

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm at risk of becoming one of those people who just says, "I've done it forever!" because I have, I've been writing for longer than I remember though I can still recall my first two proper stories: a nine-page epic about a boy who finds a baby on his doorstep with some sort of magical stone (reading back on it, it was a shameless rip-off of Harry Potter, though it didn't cross my mind at the time!) and then there was a five page little thing about a girl called Winter who appeared to just wander around in the snow, until she was taken in by a friendly couple. Now that I write about it, I see that it was less of a story than an extract.  Perhaps my earliest ever story though, was a short piece about a crab called Clipper who was bullied, along with his sister, until they stood up for themselves and the bullies were sent away. I must have only been about five years old at the time, and I had never been bullied or experienced bullying. Where do we get these ideas from?

My question is how did you start writing? It's a tough one to answer because it's true that for many, it's just second nature. I think I owe it to my primary school English teacher who pushed me to write creatively because she knew I enjoyed it. I can honestly say that I've never looked back. From the ages of about five to eleven, I tried my hand at illustrating my own stories but it never worked - I guess it doesn't help that I can't draw people at all!

I'm lucky to have always had a supportive family and a whole hoard of teachers who respect what I do though I know that there are some people who have had to hide their writing for fear of being mocked or disparaged. What I say is BE PROUD of your writing; even if your friends laugh at it or your family disagree, it doesn't mean you should be any less proud. It's one thing to be a writer but it takes a whole lot of guts to keep it up and still want to do it. Never lose that sense of self and pride. There will be rough points but the joy of starting writing when you're young is that you can see yourself grow and evolve. I look back at pieces from just a few months ago and I'm amazed at how far I've come.

Why do YOU write? - comment below!

Lydia