Writing with Passion

 Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been concentrating on inspiration and learning, attending a couple of literary festivals, watching online talks about writing crime, and taking email courses about the stages of writing and publishing. This makes for a good break from just writing all the time, and reminds me that I’m not alone in the endeavour or in the obstacles I face.

The first talk was from crime writer Martin Edwards, whom I’ve seen talk before. He’s a specialist in the history of Golden Age crime writing (think Christie, Marsh, Tey, etc.), as well as having written three series of his own. A very gracious person, when he was asked if he resented the instant success of newer crime writers such as Richard Osman or Richard Cole’s, he rightly pointed out that as long as they know there stuff and write well, they have earned their place. He did talk about how useful it would be to have a few extra layers of thick skin to deal with rejection, but encouraged everyone to write with passion and belief, no matter the monetary rewards (or lack thereof).

Neil Pearson talked about getting Alan Rickman’s diaries published and the joy, as a rare bookseller, of going through such an amazing archive. There again it was stressed that what makes the diaries so interesting is the honesty and passion with which Rickman wrote.

Lastly, in a talk about creating a crime fiction series, Pamela Fagan Hutchins listed the four motivations for criminals: love, lust, loathing, and loot.

The fact is, passion is what drives us to do our best and sometimes our worst. It is the prime motivator for actions that make a difference. It’s what makes us take risks, spend money, sacrifice ourselves.

So if you’re going to be a writer, which involves sacrificing time and money and taking the risk of putting your best work out there to possibly be savaged (or worse, ignored), you’re better off doing it with passion.