Recently, Krystina Kellingley blogged here about what she sees as the payoff for writing. So, what’s in it for me? Why do I do this? It’s not the vast riches, it would be fair to say. I work with words, in various ways, but being a fiction author does not, on its own, pay the bills much less keep me in the manner to which I would like to become accustomed!

My usual answer is that it’s cheaper than therapy and means I’ve not killed anyone in real life. I use my writing to vent, and I find that writing helps keep depression at bay. I like me better as a person when I’m making up stories. I like the world better when it inspires me to write. The process of turning raw experience and inspiration into good story material helps me cope. If I can turn the darkness in my head into something funny, or inspiring for someone else, all well and good.

There is an undeniable satisfaction in a line well crafted, a word perfectly placed, an idea brought to life or a scene that comes out very well. Like any crafts person, I take pride in the skill I bring to my work, and in the finishing of a piece. I enjoy the learning, studying and practicing that helps me hone my craft. I read other people, I explore things that will inform and improve me. I seek out those who can help me improve, and I challenge myself to do better. I take delight in my own progress.

I write to entertain other people. That’s hugely important to me. I want to make you laugh, or cry, or wonder or think about something differently. If I write something and it moves someone else, and I find out about that – there’s the payoff. There’s the thing that makes it all worthwhile.

I write because I have ideas and values. I have thoughts about how people treat each other, how we live in the world, how we handle our life experiences. There are things I want people to know about and things I think we could do better. Sometimes I tackle that through non-fiction, but that’s about handing tools to people who are already onboard. Non-fiction will not convert people to my way of thinking about things, but a story can. Stories get in under the radar, they show and suggest, and invite people along. I firmly believe that fiction has the power to change the world and I want to write stories that take us in richer, more sustainable, more human-friendly directions.

My aim is to write fantastic literature that entertains people but also has soul, richness and depth. I’ll probably never be wholly satisfied with my own work, I’m always pushing to do more and be better as an author, and my best book always seems to be the one I haven’t written yet.

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