Follow the voice

Some folks have an inner voice that tells them to play sports or an instrument. For others, that voice drives people to study science or learn a language. My voice wanted out of my head and the natural place for it to go was down on paper. I began writing stories when I was 10 and have written both privately and professionally for the past 30 years.

Much of the writing is pure crap. Sometimes, in the middle of pure crap, there will be a sentence or two that are true gems, sentences that encourage me to expand into stories. However, that is quite rare. But, the voice in my head compels me to write and write I do. I started writing because I was compelled by that inner voice.

That voice has served me well, allowed me to become a documentary writer, a journalist for the AP wire, a magazine writer and more. Quelling that inner voice has helped further my career and helped put food on my table. Even though I’ve now been writing for decades, I still consider myself a bit of a fraud. It isn’t until I’m working on my fictional short stories that I find an internal peace. How can I be a fraud if I’m writing fiction? I wonder if all professional fiction writers were non-fiction frauds and until they realized fiction could legitimize them they went to bed depressed.

I digress. I write because if I don’t, my brain would explode under the weight of all the useless knowledge it holds. By putting pen to paper (yes, I am still an old-fashioned writer, using a pen and paper and not typing it out on a computer) I find that the useless information can go one of two ways: I can generate a short story that will amuse me or I can find something useful to write about for the local paper or a specialty magazine. I mean how many times have you begun writing something with purpose to find that when you’re at the end, the purpose has completely changed. For example, a few weeks ago I began writing a short story about a couple that lived in Bethesda, MD. By the end of the piece, I realized the couple did not have much to say, but a local magazine may buy the piece with some minor alterations.

Moral of this story is that write what you know and write what you don’t know, but if there is any voice in your head telling you to write, obey that voice and you may find some extra cash in your pocket. At the very least, you may find some internal peace.

- Rion Haley

What got me into writing

All my life, I have been a voracious reader. I remember staying up late, trying to finish the last few pages of the newest unputdownable novel. I always dreamed, hoped, that I would someday find within myself a bit of the talent possessed by the authors who created masterpieces, and gave me whole new worlds to dream about.

My forays into writing at the time however, were strictly limited to a few random pieces that got published in school magazines or community newspapers. Although I was frequently praised by my teachers and urged to indulge more in the art and craft of writing, I never did find the time and energy to devote to it - until a few years ago. It was about this time that a certain series geared towards children and young adults captured my imagination. I loved everything about the series - the elaborate plotlines, the true to life and diverse characters, the vibrant and fluid storytelling. Then came the heartbreaking ending.

I call it heartbreaking because it really did break my heart. I thought it denied the series a loftier, more perfect ending that it clearly deserved. The final character and plot arcs left me feeling betrayed. I felt resentment, I felt anger. After boycotting the final installments, I spent a few weeks in misery at having been denied the perfect world of my imagination. Then I realized something. I realized that while I had the right to be dismayed, the author had the right to end his story in whichever way he pleased. If I really wanted to have a world created in a way that I found perfect, I would have to create it myself, and not seek it in works of others.

The following day, during my lunch break, I wrote four paragraphs where my two central characters meet for the first time. By that night I had completed a chapter, and by the end of the week I had a detailed plotline for the whole story. I had embarked on an epic journey, a science fiction book series of five parts - it was going to be long and hard, but I vowed to endure.

- Rupa Basu