What I Like About My Writing - #bloganuary

When I first started thinking about what I like about my writing I thought about the nuts and bolts of writing. I can string together sentences that are simple, compound and complex; I have a good vocabulary and enjoy putting words together in interesting ways; I was taught the mechanics of writing, I know my conjunctions and even know what a fronted adverbial is.

But none of this gets at the heart of what I love about writing. It's more about the feelings that sitting at the laptop or notebook, starting to write and being transported. When I write, if I get into 'the zone', I feel the physical world peel away. I lose track of time, don't notice when it gets dark, don't hear or see what is going on around me. 

I adore being pulled into the world of my imagination, meeting the characters I have created and letting them take my hand and draw me further into the story. Sometimes they push and shove me where I'm not sure I want to go but that's the nature of slipping into my imagination. I always think of imagination as another world where different things happen. I can populate it with people who I have met (cunningly disguised of course!) or I can conjure up people who are nothing like anyone I have ever met. I can travel anywhere, do anything and be as many different versions of me that I can imagine.

It's not about how beautiful the writing is or about what others think about it. I'm not very good at sharing my writing and have yet to be published so what I write is very much for me. I love being in charge of the process at the beginning until that wonderful moment when the story takes wings and flies, tugging the string that tethers it to me until it breaks free and lives on its own.

So I think I'll have to say that it's the experience of being swallowed by the story and allowing myself the luxury of sinking into my imagination that is the best bit for me of writing. And I'm not too bothered about the technical stuff - I'm looking at you fronted adverbials!