I often get asked why I write. Strange question don’t you think? I don’t get asked why I had children or why I bought a house. Why do people write? What drives authors to write a novel? On Radio 4 this morning it was suggested that we all have words buzzing round our heads. Some people have imaginary characters talking to each other in their heads. I don’t have words in my head as you might expect a writer to have but I have pictures and images instead. I have visions of people doing different things, conversing with each other. They are usually people I know. These characters develop personalities based upon things that are happening in real life and past experiences. A story develops in your head that needs to be written down. To my mind writing is just an extension of day -dreaming. I write because I’m a day dreamer. I think I must have been born a day dreamer. I was a child prodigy in the art of day dreaming. I’m locked in my own private world most of the time and prefer this world. My headmistress told my parents I was a dreamy girl who sat staring out of the window all day. Even now as an adult I’m a dreamer. I love people but I think I’m an introvert rather than an extrovert on balance. I will go to parties, pubs, peoples’ house but I look forward to coming home to read a book in the silence of my own company. When I’m surrounded by other people I find myself drifting off into my own world and my friends and family start asking ‘did you even hear what I just said?’ The truth is no I wasn’t listening, because I’m more interested in the creative world in my head.
The best time of the day is when I’m in a half asleep state in bed at 5am. Words and scenes filter subliminally into my head and I reach over for the pen and paper always by my bed. By the time I get up I’ve written the opening scene of the next chapter. Those first words of the day are crisp and mature, rather like the first coffee and polluted by many other thoughts. It’s rather like being under hypnosis. The other most productive occasions are when I’m driving and my music, usually Coldplay or James Blunt filters through my consciousness and it conjures up pictures of scenes and scenarios they end up on paper.
I write because writing is an escape route for my day dreams but also I write because I want to tell my story. When a dramatic thing happens in my life I need to write about it. It’s cathartic, therapeutic and helps me to explore my feelings in greater depth. I began writing 21 years ago documenting the story of my first child’s death. I wanted this piece of writing to help other women who had lost babies. I wove the story into my book ‘Every Family Has One.’ Also woven into the story is the drama surrounding one of my family member’s mental health issues. I wanted to highlight my concerns regarding teenagers spending so much time locked away in their bedrooms and I wanted to open up my heart to an audience about how it felt and what I did when I discovered my son was taking cannabis. Many parents in today’s world are lost, powerless about how to help their teenagers cope with modern life and focus on some goals. Parents don’t know who to turn to, who to ask for help. I hope ‘Every Family Has One’ goes some way towards pointing parents in the right direction but also I want it to help health professionals see the shortcomings in the mental health system, education system and careers advice services. Teenagers aren’t always getting the help they need.
‘The Catholic Woman’s Dying Wish’ is based on a relationship with a man I met on the internet. Our first date was in Brighton. I found myself writing about the journey to Brighton that day, on the train and after the date I wrote about the date and printed out our emails. The deeper the relationship became the more interested I became in writing about it. I was living the relationship but also living in a parallel relationship with him asking myself what if that happened and what if this happened? In my day dreams I changed the circumstances and issues. I became obsessed by writing about us. I even paused during love making to write notes for a sex scene! The scenes in Venice, Rome, Ireland, Dubai and Jordan were written from detailed notes I took when I travelled to these places. Instead of taking pictures I write notes about what it feels like to be in these places.
When you read one of my books (and my next book is based on my travel around America with my ungrateful children combined with a family saga) what you are ultimately getting is access to my own private thoughts. My books are a window into my soul. If you have voices in your head why not carry a notebook around with you so that you can write about the conversations your characters have?
Links to my books:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catholic-Womans-Dying-Wish-Things-ebook/dp/B014DP7HQW/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Every-Family-Has-Warrington-Joanna-ebook/dp/B015RUZL7Y/