How Bad Do You Want It?
“How bad do you want it?” Tim McGraw rocks out on one of my husband’s favorite CD’s. As I listen while we drive I realize, I can relate just about everything to writing. Maybe that’s the sign of a writer, always watching, thinking and observing for that next character, plot or subject matter.
It reminds me of when I was a child, really believing and becoming the stories I read, thinking about them unceasingly until I could open the cover once again. Somehow, I was there, even if only an observer. I was right in on the action; feeling the same things as the characters I read, trying to decide how I could keep the story real even after the pages had all been turned. I usually took it one step further, begging for a tree house after reading Swiss Family Robinson, getting a pet rabbit after reading The Velveteen Rabbit, and buying those “feels like real fur” mice at the dime store and learning origami so I could make boats that float after reading Stuart Little.
I think those connections are what every author dreams their readers feel after reading their books. Those are the connections that make me so passionate about getting books into the hands of children. Encouraging dreams and fantasy, allowing children to find their own connections with the story world and their current physical existence. That’s what great authors do as they write. JK Rowling created “The Dementors” as part of her Harry Potter series out of the frustration and depression she was feeling behind writing her first novel.
So, you could ask yourself, ‘how bad do you want it?” But better yet, maybe we should ask how we could write so our readers will feel they want it so bad they can’t wait to get back to reading our work; that they feel so connected they want to make boats, build tree houses, or cuddle with rabbits. I believe anything that is written from the passionate depths of our writing souls, can only bring those kind of responses, (even though we may never know the connections we make with our readers) and that is something I do truly want.
© February 25, 2008 Marie Boyum
