Let’s start with a few words from the brilliant Neil Gaiman.
“Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.”
Wise words, Neil, wise words.
When I was younger I thought I was going to be the next Isabel Allende.
Okay, you can stop laughing now.
I read her novel Eva Luna in my early twenties, when I was recovering from a major surgery. It took me away from real life when I desperately needed the respite. Immediately propelled into a world of dizzying love, folklore and spirituality, I fell in love with her writing.
“Aha!” I exclaimed, inwardly - and possibly outwardly. “This is what I want to write!”
Enthralled, I set out to write my own Eva Luna.
And of course, I failed.
The story I laboured over for months - no, years - was a load of wafty old nonsense that went nowhere and did nothing. It was so bad that when I read it back now, I laugh like the proverbial drain.
Stubbornly, it took me far too long realise that I was trying to copy a style and not write the stories I wanted to write, and in the way I wanted to write them.
What can I say? I was young and impressionable. It took a few more years of filling notebooks and grappling with ideas and themes before I hit my groove. But only after writing a few more duds.
So I implore you, listen to yourself and trust your instincts. The world needs a you, and not another cheap knock-off of someone else.
Be inspired by others, yes, but put your blinkers on and write your stories in your own voice, and in a way that only you can.
Have a great week!
Lisa
Why mote? It’s my shorthand for motivation. More pertinently, in olde English, a mote means a speck or particle, and that’s what this post offers every Monday; a particle of inspiration to set you on your writing journey this week.
I think many, possibly most, people start by emulating other writers. We learn by example. Over time, as one becomes more confident, it's possible to move from copying to borrowing. Even the apparently most original writers must have got their ideas from somewhere.