His first novel, What Binds Us... I just can't put it down! I've got books to edit, whole courses of study to plan, but that damned novel keeps getting in the way.
I passed the halfway mark this morning and the realisation was devastating. I don't want the story to end: if it were the twice the length of War and Peace, I'd gladly keep on reading and reading. I know the characters so well by now that they are as real to me as my own creations; they are real people. I can almost see them in my mind's eye and I'm as surprised as they are themselves when they discover each other.
And it makes me question how I have the audacity to call myself an author, but it also reminds me why I am, why we all are:
"Dondi tells me you're a writer," Mr. Whyte said to me.
"Yes...I mean, I hope to be one day."
"Now, son, either you are or you aren't. You don't choose to write like you choose to be a fireman. It's something that comes from inside you. It's a kind of compulsion. It can be a curse or a blessing."
"I think it's more of a curse sometimes." I'd never expressed this to anyone. "Sometimes I want to write. I see things that I have to write down. But then later on, I look at it and I wonder why I bothered. I can't imagine anyone being interested in what I wrote."
"You mustn't write for other people. You must write what you feel. If you believe in what you write, others will develop an interest. Don't cater to an interest. Create an interest."
"How?"
"Write what you know. Write what you've experienced, what you've imagined. Write as if you were trying to share your vision with your best friend."
"That's another thing. I don't think I've experienced enough to write about. I haven't really done anything."
"You've lived," he said. "You've felt. Start with that. The rest will come with time. Just remember: fear nothing. For a writer, there can be no bad experiences."
"Yes...I mean, I hope to be one day."
"Now, son, either you are or you aren't. You don't choose to write like you choose to be a fireman. It's something that comes from inside you. It's a kind of compulsion. It can be a curse or a blessing."
"I think it's more of a curse sometimes." I'd never expressed this to anyone. "Sometimes I want to write. I see things that I have to write down. But then later on, I look at it and I wonder why I bothered. I can't imagine anyone being interested in what I wrote."
"You mustn't write for other people. You must write what you feel. If you believe in what you write, others will develop an interest. Don't cater to an interest. Create an interest."
"How?"
"Write what you know. Write what you've experienced, what you've imagined. Write as if you were trying to share your vision with your best friend."
"That's another thing. I don't think I've experienced enough to write about. I haven't really done anything."
"You've lived," he said. "You've felt. Start with that. The rest will come with time. Just remember: fear nothing. For a writer, there can be no bad experiences."
Larry Benjamin I salute you. You are fabulous!
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