The impulse to write, to create, is different for each individual author. Though they may appear to be similar on the surface, the inspirations of those who create stories on paper have unique origins. Science Fantasy author Hal Duncan delves into his own inspirations and creative drive to share with Suite101 his own reasons for why he writes fiction.
Suite101: Why do you write?
Hal Duncan: Why *wouldn't* you write? When you're a kid you daydream, play make-believe and let's-pretend. Maybe it's cowboys-and-indians with toy guns; maybe it's Star Wars with sticks for lightsabres. You don't just re-enact the stories you've seen or read; you make new narratives up.
Talk to a lot of writers and you'll hear many of them say they sort of write for themselves as reader, that they're making up the stories they want to read because nobody else has written them yet. That starts in childhood, on the playground.
You don't even have to be playing that story with a single perspective, not if you're playing with Star Wars figures, Action Men or suchlike. Hell, you might even be making up the stories that others want to read, performing puppet shows for friends and family. Some of that may be motivated by the joy of being centre of attention.
Much of it comes from a simple desire to please, to entertain. But if you're messing around with Lego, it's even more abstract; there's a pure aesthetic buzz you get just from designing and building something that fits together properly and looks kinda cool. You might show it off to someone out of pride, but you're largely happy just to have made it. It's a natural human impulse, it seems to me, this sort of imaginative play. Why wouldn't we carry on doing that?
Thing is, that sort of play always seemed a whole lot more fun to me than sporty-type games, which really all boil down to running around and jumping through hoops. I mean, playing at who can follow the rules better than anybody else, whether it's the rules of football, tennis, tag or Simon Says? Might as well be a show pony. Admittedly, my view of that sort of play may be ever so slightly coloured by a general ineptitude at anything that doesn't ultimately come down to *getting out of the ****ing way*.
Maybe it's the geek survival instinct and the gay dancing ability, but I was great at dodgeball-at the dodging part, at least. Most other such physical games? When you can't kick or throw a ball to save yourself, they don't hold much appeal. So while all kids play make-believe, I can see why it would maybe hold more draw for some kids-like myself-than for others, comparatively speaking.
Anyway, if playing make-believe with toys is fun, written words are just the next step on from those Star Wars figures and Lego bricks, a more powerful facilitator for the imagination because the medium is completely malleable. You want a hero that's a cross between Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, you're not stuck with the either/or of the action figures in the box. You're not limited to the costumes and equipment you have for your Action Man toys.
The topography of your imaginative worldscape doesn't have to be projected onto whatever's around you; it's unlimited. And the more you get into it, the more that craftsman mentality kicks in, I think. It's not just about the temporary joy of immersion in narrative; it's about the lasting satisfaction you get when the structure is complete, when you look at it and you know that it's... right. It's a Lego house that's architecturally sound and aesthetically pleasing.
Read More Of Suite101's Conversation With Hal Duncan HERE
 |
