Home
>
Writing
>
Writing For the Joy of It

Writing For the Joy of It

As a child, I loved to write. I can't remember ever not writing.

I was lucky enough to have a friend, Pat, who was as besotted as I was by books and writing. In our school vacations, we would curl up for hours on end, writing, writing, writing. Our furious scribbling would be broken only by the occasional bleat of "Pat? can you listen to this for a moment?" or "What's a word that rhymes with 'autumn'?" [The answer: not much, unless you resort to 'caught em' or 'sought em']

I suspect that there are a lot of writers who can identify with this sort of joy in creation. It still happens now - I can easily lose hours in my story world.

But it's not quite the same. Now, I also think of writing as a business. I want to write - it's all I've ever wanted to do, really - but I also want to get paid for it. I have to worry about deadlines and corrections and back cover blurbs and tax deductions.

Not so when I was a child, caught up only in the wonder of creating good guys and bad guys, amazing adventures, and heroic actions. I can still remember one perfect day. To me, it encompasses everything about the joy of writing.

I was sitting all alone, without a sound to be heard anywhere, getting ready to write the first words on a page of a brand new book. My 'writing room' was an enclosed section at one end of the back verandah, and right at that moment the sun was streaming in through the window, bathing me in warmth at my desk. I could see dust motes drifting slowly through the sun.

The desk at which I sat had been made by my grandfather, and had an old-fashioned lift-up lid. The legs were the curly iron supports of an old Singer treadle sewing machine.

I sat there, full of happiness, with a blank exercise book in front of me and a few carefully - aligned pens in the groove on the desk. I couldn't wait to start. I was literally breathless with anticipation of the adventures to come.

I picked up the pen, and started to write.

The joy of writing. It's something you should never forget.

You're a writer because you love to write; because you can't not write.

So when terrible things happen in the world, as they did on September 11, 2001 in New York; or when a Tsnumai wiped out hundreds of thousands of people at Christmas in 2004 - and it seems that nothing is worthwhile, and you will never feel really safe again - think of what gives you joy.

Not just your family.

Not just the happiness of living in a safe world.

Think of the joy you get from your craft - from your passion. And think: this might be what you were put on earth to do - live joyfully, doing what you love most.

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.