I write because I breathe. Writing is such a part of this incarnation of me, that I would sooner stop breathing than put down my pen or turn off my computer’s word processor.
How I love that my muse never forsakes me. No matter where or when I am, ideas flood in, full with colour, complete with dialogue and characters who demand their own lives.
It is not unusual to find myself thinking of writing topics when I am driving. Recently I was mulling over my roots in South Africa, the visions of a story burst in on my thoughts. Thank goodness for voice record on my iPhone.
Perhaps to show you why I have such a passion for writing, I can share just a few sentences that exploded into my consciousness like verbal fireworks that day.
The scent of my Africa is a hot, metallic, and musky taste upon my tongue, energetic, vigorous and bursting with life.
Africa is the dry and dusty edge of an ancient world filled with mystery and heralding the birth of man upon planet earth. It is a land of flamboyant colours, all of which are mimicked in the exotic flora and fauna of this magnificent continent.
Sleek lionesses blend in with the tall yellow grassland, permitting them to stealthily approach their dinner. Their movements are so slight, that the merest sway of grass simply suggests a gentle but welcome African breeze, not the lithe approach of one who is seeking nourishment.
Spring time brings the fuzzy yellow blooms of acacia trees as if hundreds of soft downy newborn chicks were nestled in their branches. However, sometimes beauty comes with unexpected claws. Acacias have long, strong, and vicious thorns, ready to sting the hand that takes liberties.
Late summer reduces life-giving water holes to grey, cracked mud where elephants can wallow in perfect camouflage. The cooling mud has the added benefit of reducing the annoying itch of parasitic insects on the hides of these magnificent creatures, who are in reality, the true kings of beasts.
The vibrant red of the aloe reflects the flash of brilliantly coloured wings of some Africa’s many birds.
As I dictated this last sentence into my obedient iPhone, I arrived at my destination, still basking in my enjoyment of my moments immersed in the veldt of Africa.
This passion for words and visions that I commit to print is the reason I know without reservation, that when I write, I am enjoying the necessary breath of life.