Starting Out As A Writer Part 2

Starting off as a writer is one of the hardest things, come to think of it. Writers aren't taken as seriously as other jobs. When I was an artist, I'd get the same expression when I said I was a writer; surprise, then a 'you'll never make money as an artist/writer look' and finally a glazed over look.

Although, since JK Rowling had success with Harry Potter, the glazed over look turned into 'oh well, you never know' look. At that point, instead of adopting an F U look, I smile back with a 'DAMN RIGHT' look. Works every time.

As a fiction writer, it all takes a turn for the worst. When asked, 'what kind of writing do you do?'
I reply, 'fiction'.
Here it comes wait for it.
'oh ... what kind of fiction?'
'Fantasy'
I can see the flash of lightening, hear thunder clapping, as suddenly as it went, it's back. The glazed over look.

Now I'm ever more compared to a non-fiction writer. Apparently, they do really well, sell books, make money, have, wait for it, 'VALUE'.

If you think non-fiction writing is the only type of writing that has value, think again. Since I began reading Neil Gaiman's books, I have discovered how many lives have been saved just from reading his books. The hope they have instilled in his readers, including me. That it's possible to do what I love and make a living out of it. Everything is impossible until it has been proven possible. Now this takes me to Alice Through The Looking Glass. There is so much in this film than the story or the movie seems to have on the surface. Time portrayed as a man and time travelling to save the Mad  Hatter's family. I won't spoilt it any further if you haven't watched it. It has so many layers to it that it left me awe struck. Fiction digs deeper and pulls at your insides more that non-fiction does. That is my opinion, I'm stating it here.

I found an interesting article about fiction.
http://www.returnofkings.com/35173/on-the-importance-of-fiction-writing


Here is Neil Gaiman's edited lecture for the Reading Agency.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/24/neil-gaiman-face-facts-need-fiction

I hope you've enjoyed this blog.

Good Night :) xxx

Shadows

   When I was growing up, I thought the only way I could express myself was through painting, drawing or poetry. It blinded me from using writing fiction as another way to tell you about my dreams, fears and ambitions.

  

   Nightmares turn into monsters. Sunny days transform into misty grey sunsets. Traumas turn into stories with vampires, werewolves and ghosts. It's therapeutic and inspiring. Ideas run through my head 24/7 100 miles an hour. It keeps me awake, it inspires me and it haunts me. I love every bit of it.

   Authors who made me look at my shadows are Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, C. S. Lewis and JK Rowling. There are many authors out there that have written stories that have shaken me to the core. When I look at my shadows, they disappear like smoke in a mirror.

   Some days it's hard to look at my shadows. Some days it's too difficult to look at the smoke in the mirror, to turn the light on or even to open my eyes to the possibility that these shadows might not be real. Some days they are so real that they turn into that monster that hurt me when I was 9, or that bigger monster that hurt even more when I was 14 till I was 16. Sometimes that monster goes back into time becoming something closer and more related to me that it's hard to think that he ever did what he did to me. But when I write, I can do whatever I can do to those monsters, and that's the best feeling in the world.

  

   I have no regrets in becoming a fantasy writer. I know that some people think that fiction does not bring value to the world. They are so mistaken. Fiction has a big role.

Here's a link to what Neil Gaiman says about fiction: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/24/neil-gaiman-face-facts-need-fiction