Sample chapter from The Pursuit of Life
Writing, I’ve found, is an organic thing. It takes time to grow. Books are like plants. First you have to place a seed in a warm and fertile spot, then you need to water it with ideas, then it will send down roots that feed the stem, then it will produce leaves and branches, ultimately it will flower and fruit. Then the whole process is repeated as it seeds ideas for your next book. Eventually you have a self-supporting woodland of your creation. It’s a survival thing – that our words seek to live, and in doing so bring us to life. And, of course, a writer never truly dies so long as his or her voice is heard. Such is the permanence of the printed word.
It takes time.
I thought by now that my woodland of words would be self-supporting. But a twenty-one year old woodland is far from mature. Perhaps the ‘Fennel’ woodland is more like a copse? It’s a warm and welcoming one, growing by the week and merging into one ‘major project’ that gives greater meaning to my life and – I hope – that of my readers, too.
What comes next? The answers are there, waiting for us to find them.
For me, I know exactly what comes next. I set out a twenty-year grand plan in 2004 when Mrs-H-to-be and I worked out how to rebuild my life and create our future together. Central to this was me becoming an author, earning my living from writing. It’s mostly gone to plan, though is taking longer than we expected.
What happens when I’ve completed my current projects? More writing. But I think I’ll be done with writing about me. It will be time for me to write about other people, things, places and experiences. Sure, I’ll share my views but I want to observe more, learn more, and speak more about the bigger picture. I want to share others’ words, speak to other authors, collectively championing nature and connecting nature writers with readers.
I want my publishing activities to become more personal. I want you to hear my voice, and that of other rural writers. Writing should be a 1-1 connection between author and reader. The closer the connection, the better and more valued it becomes. Who wants to be one of many, when you can be one of one? Do you hear? I’m going to speak.
Writers build bonds with others. We do this by writing every day, sharing our work as often as possible, and putting our books in people’s hands. It’s all about connection – to people, places, things, thoughts, emotions – and communication that resonates with others. We speak, we listen, we observe, we feel, we write. We seek ‘always and never’ to be alone. Isolated but always connected, close to our reader. Our mind in theirs, and theirs in ours, as we write and they read our words.
If you’re a writer or reader, you’re never alone, never far away from someone just like you. Words connect us. You know the beauty and wonder of the world, and how to connect with the life within and around you. You know the spirituality to be found in using one’s creative talents and how an understanding of one’s nature helps us to listen to the heartbeat of nature around us. This drives our perspective and contributes to our sense of belonging in the world.
We writers and readers seek the unique angle of light that reveals truths, enriches beliefs and gives meaning. I’ll be doing it. Please do it, too.