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| Masquerade Ball by Mark J Sebastian |
I didn’t realise how exhausting writing was until I began to do it full time. When I was fitting in a bit of note-taking while on the bus to or from work, or writing up my diary last thing at night writing was a restful break from routine. Putting my words down on paper was a way to download my brain ready for either the trials of office life or sleep, whichever was most appropriate at the time.
Now writing is my life, the stakes are much higher. Readers know what they like, and it’s my job to give them exactly what they want. At the same time, I always want to write from my heart. Without conviction there can be no emotion, and without emotion writing is lifeless and without passion. And we all want to read about passion, whether it’s the romantic or the dangerous type, don’t we?
Every writer I know puts in a full working day at the computer screen, notepad or in my case, the Neo. Family life comes before work, but in between the two time has to be found for research and promotion. I find it hard to decide which of these two aspects of the writing life I like best. Surfing the net or spending a few hours in the library is pure indulgence for me. On the other hand, I really love chatting with readers and other authors. Especially if there’s tea and cake involved…
If you’re a writer, which non-scribbling part of your work do you like best? If you’re a reader, do you like meeting authors face to face?
