Why I Write
I’ve
run into a question ever since I decided to embark on the path of becoming an
author.
Why
do you write?
It’s
not a simple answer. Nay, this is a very complicated response that harkens back
to when I was in my teens with a diary my brothers were always taking to read
and tease me about my crush of the week. It goes back to when I’d put ideas in
my head on paper, in a notebook long consigned to the trash, in order to make
sense of the thoughts I was having.
The
simple response is that I have a vivid imagination. The more complicated answer
is that I observe the human condition and imagine how things would be if this
or that were to happen.
An
author probably has the hardest time explaining to those who aren’t in their
field why they do this lonely occupation. For it is just that, even in this era
of social media connections. No one is with us except the characters coming to
life in our heads as we immortalize their demands in electronic bytes. But let
me try to explain to the uninitiated exactly what this process is…
I
write because there are people with stories to be told. They aren’t real
people. You won’t meet them on the street. They may live in a small town or a
big city. Their lives might be in the present or the past, or even the future. What
they’re facing may seem insurmountable or insignificant, depending on how you
view them. But they all have one thing in common.
There
is a story to be told; one that will interest someone else, touch a chord
within them, or make them think about a situation.
These
non-existent individuals are very much alive to me as I convey their story to
readers. They have lives wherever they exist. There are families, friends, even
enemies that have their own agenda that must come out in the tale being woven. While
I’m staring at a computer monitor, letting my fingers reveal the tale, I’m
seeing the place where they live in vivid color. I can sense their emotions,
the depth of their feelings, smell the aromas of their world, hear the sounds
of whatever incident has them captured in a difficult moment.
Some
might say with all these characters bursting out of my head that I should seek
assistance from a mental health professional. That’s the furthest thing from my
thoughts because once I finish the story demanding to be told, my characters
are mute, happy that they’ve sent their saga has been given to others
experiencing the same thing in their lives.
Yes,
that’s right. My characters are giving people a reason to cry, to laugh, to
scream with joy, or release heart-wrenching sobs. They are meant to pull you,
the reader, into a different world, allow you escape from whatever is dragging
you into a morass of emotions, and give you an enjoyable experience for however
long it takes you to digest their lives.
If,
by some chance, you happen to discover that you’ve gone through exactly this
same problem and find solace in how my characters worked out their difficulties,
they are dancing for joy. Sometimes, they demand a return performance, but
usually they are satisfied they managed to entertain you for the time you
allowed these friends into your life.
About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and
raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years
traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling
in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester
with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out
new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the
South and beyond.
She’s a
multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those
who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is
observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair
game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these social media
sites:
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