Writing

Writing a Quick Read

When I finally finished the Angelotti Trilogy with the final book The Lost Son, I swore I’d give up writing fiction. Too much like hard work, and besides, I’m old. I forget stuff, paticularly what hair or eye colour some character has. I’ll stick to cookbooks, I thought.

But the writing disease doesn’t go away. And now I find myself committed to doing a book for Quick Reads, a great charity that publishes books to encourage reading in anyone who doesn’t read, or has a struggle reading.

20,000 words is less than a quarter the length of a novel, but a lot longer than a short story, and I’ve never done one before. It’s a challenge: it’s much easier to write too much than write too little. And Quick Reads are not for children. These are books for grown-ups, but not with long words, long sentences and long paragraphs, all of which tend to put off those who don’t read with ease. The book doesn’t have to have a simple theme, be obvious or happy-ending-jolly. People who don’t enjoy reading are not necessarily stupid or simple. They could be clever as anything, but autistic or they could have been put off reading by a bad teacher and just never developed the habit.

Anyway, I’m committed, with not an idea in my head. I sit at this computer, and nothing happens. But I shall persevere. I know I won’t be happy until I’m so into the story that I can barely pull myself away.