What's the definition of a prolific writer? Is it someone who has written twenty books and one play in twelve years?
If so then I'm prolific, although I never consider myself to be. But I have written lots of books: eight crime novels, sixteen non-fiction business books and one play to be precise, not to mention scores of articles, company brochures, and training programmes. In fact, I've written all my working life and even before that I was writing plays and novels when I was ten years old.
Why do I do it? Not for the money I can assure you. I've a long way to go before catching up with Rowling or Martina Cole and I doubt I ever will, but that doesn't matter. That's not important to me. I write because I love it, because I love communicating, and that goes for giving seminars, conferences, speeches too. I love both the written and spoken word. I'm not literary far from it. I like to communicate simply and practically. I like to inform and entertain or both depending on what I'm writing. And I write every day. Which brings me to a couple of quotes from great writers which recently struck a chord with me.
'If you did not write every day, the poisons would accumulate and you would begin to die, or act crazy or both - you must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.' - Ray Bradbury.
'I got so discouraged, I almost stopped writing. It was my 12-year-old son who changed my mind when he said to me, 'Mother, you've been very cross and edgy with us and we notice you haven't been writing. We wish you'd go back to the typewriter. That did a lot of good for my false guilts about spending so much time writing. At that point, I acknowledged that I am a writer and even if I were never published again, that's what I am.' - Madeleine L'Engle
Me too.
Why do I do it? Not for the money I can assure you. I've a long way to go before catching up with Rowling or Martina Cole and I doubt I ever will, but that doesn't matter. That's not important to me. I write because I love it, because I love communicating, and that goes for giving seminars, conferences, speeches too. I love both the written and spoken word. I'm not literary far from it. I like to communicate simply and practically. I like to inform and entertain or both depending on what I'm writing. And I write every day. Which brings me to a couple of quotes from great writers which recently struck a chord with me.
'If you did not write every day, the poisons would accumulate and you would begin to die, or act crazy or both - you must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.' - Ray Bradbury.
'I got so discouraged, I almost stopped writing. It was my 12-year-old son who changed my mind when he said to me, 'Mother, you've been very cross and edgy with us and we notice you haven't been writing. We wish you'd go back to the typewriter. That did a lot of good for my false guilts about spending so much time writing. At that point, I acknowledged that I am a writer and even if I were never published again, that's what I am.' - Madeleine L'Engle
Me too.
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