Writers Are Made-Not Born

Inspiration often comes when we least expect it. So does the validation of one’s assumptions.

One of my pet theories is that writers don’t just pop into life fully equipped with the ability to realize their propensity for the written word. I’ve worked with enough would-be–and eventually successful–authors to justify this belief. But it never hurts to hear someone else articulate that same sentiment, especially when that someone is a world-acclaimed novelist.

“It could be said that I formed the dream of becoming a writer and the rest of my life was about making that dream come true,” award-winning British novelist Graham Swift wrote in the August 2020 issue of Costco Connection.

Where? I know. I warned you about the unexpected part. But wait; there’s more.

Swift sensed he wanted to be a writer as a child, despite a lack of writers in his family or a push from anyone toward anything artistic. Still, he realized that if his dream was to become a reality, he would have to force the issue.

“I wasn’t born a writer–is anyone?–I had to become one. I’ve never regretted either the dream or the long and sometimes tough process of turning myself into a writer. They have given my life meaning and fulfillment.

“And they have given my life—I know this from countless readers’ letters—something that can be shared meaningfully with the lives of others. I think fiction, storytelling, is fundamentally an act of sharing, of intimate human communion. There’s no limit to its intimacy, or its honesty. To be drawn into a story is like receiving an embrace, to know you are not alone. Readers may begin a novel feeling at first that they’re entering a foreign country. ‘Who are these people? What has all this got to do with me?’ But then, if fiction works, there will be a point when they say to themselves, ‘Hold on a moment; I’ve been there too.'”

I’ve never read Graham Swift’s work. But that’s about to change. I might have to start with Last Orders, the 1996 novel that earned him the Booker Prize for fiction.

In the meantime, I will continue to revel in helping others realize their writing dreams. Maybe that will your story next year. I hope so.