I was once again asked that time-old
question.
'Why do you write?'
My first response: Because it's all that I want to do. All
that I have.
But then I thought about it. Of course
someday I want to be, Amie Salmon: Writer, with the proper
credentials and all, but aren't I more than that?
Aren't I a writer, reader, student,
sister, blogger, daughter, aunt, twitterer, fan, friend and so on?
Aren't we all more than one thing? Isn't that the thing which writers
try hard to do for their characters, make them more than one
dimensional? Don't we all, fictional or not, deserve to be known as
more than just one thing?
For some reason writing this post made
me think of when I went to watch Magic Mike at the cinema the other
day. It was my birthday, and me and my friend were having a marathon
day at the pictures. Magic Mike was our last order of the day, mainly
because it was the only time it was on. We were both, along with
another friend and her mum, looking forward to watching some sexy
boys shaking their thang. Then as we were buying our tickets, the
girl selling them to us said that Magic Mike wasn't all it appeared
to be.
Me and my friend were a little miffed,
but we knew that at least this way we wouldn't be disappointed as we
were prepared. And we weren't, none of us were. (And neither were
most of the reviewers or other cinema goers according to an on-line
search.) It wasn't the best, or most ground-breaking film I've ever seen, but it was good. And it was so much more than just a film that invited women to
come and have a good time to. It was about discovery, love,
friendship, temptations, dark side of fun, and so much more. There were scenes I weren't
expecting, and many that I were. There was laughter and a few moments
that made you want to shout: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!
After that rant, my point is – it
wasn't what I initial expected. It was better.
So my two new goals in life: Be me,
not who people expect me to be.
Make my characters
whole, rounded. Make them real.
I think as a writer, that's not a bad goal to have.
