Image:Microsoft |
The words are all there inside my head. I know how I write and
why I do it. It
just takes a while for me to shuffle things around and sort them out so my
responses deliver the correct meaning. I’m like one of those ponderous Scrabble
players, only I take an age to make a sentence, not a word.
As a writer, I MULL. It’s what language is all about for me.
I love having the time to play around with words to find the best, clearest or most
accurate way of saying something. I like to make sure I’m saying exactly what I
mean. When pressed into responding in the moment - even without a large audience - I often clam up or come out with something
bland and superficial.
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Elizabeth Gilbert giving TED talk |
As I get older I find a further setback. Even in the comfort
of my own home, I’ve forever starting a sentence with gusto then grinding to a
halt when I can’t remember the name of the person, film or book I’m talking
about. Words like ‘whatsit’ and ‘thingamabob’ get overused instead. In
public – that’s highly embarrassing – especially for a writer whose domain is ‘words’.
Perhaps people will come to my talks for the spectacle of witnessing
a fish out of water. Perhaps I’ll let them down gently at the start by
explaining that speaking is NOT my forte, but that I want to share my journey
with whoever might be interested. Honesty may be the best policy – at
least it would be ‘real’ and sincere, although it may raise an entirely reasonable
question: ‘What’s she doing here giving a talk, if she can’t string two words
together?’
Well, I can, actually...it's just...
So - WHY DO people want to hear writers talk about themselves?
The answer, I’d say, is because many avid readers want to experience the 'person' behind the book they're holding in their hands, regardless of how ‘entertaining’ that person may turn out to be. Like actors, the audience wants to witness the 'real' individual. Readers want to hear what writers have to say off the page (I know I do). They want to know about the mind behind the story, their background, their personality. Even though authors by their very nature are often better at writing it down.
So - WHY DO people want to hear writers talk about themselves?
The answer, I’d say, is because many avid readers want to experience the 'person' behind the book they're holding in their hands, regardless of how ‘entertaining’ that person may turn out to be. Like actors, the audience wants to witness the 'real' individual. Readers want to hear what writers have to say off the page (I know I do). They want to know about the mind behind the story, their background, their personality. Even though authors by their very nature are often better at writing it down.
The spoken word and the written word will always exist for
me in worlds that are poles apart from each other. I know which planet I’m staying
on, but I’m happy to invite you in – if you’re patient and cut me a little slack!
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Both books went to Number One in 'Murder' and 'Psychological Thrillers' in the UK Kindle charts.
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