Write. No amount of self-inflicted misery, altered states, black pullovers or being publicly obnoxious will ever add up to your being a writer. Writers write. On you go.
Interpretation
Being a writer is defined by the act of writing, not by external circumstances or personal struggles.
A.L. Kennedy emphasizes that the essence of being a writer lies in the commitment to writing itself, regardless of the challenges or eccentricities one may face. This quote suggests that true writers must continuously engage with their craft rather than let life's difficulties define their identity or abilities as writers.
In practice
During a motivational speech for aspiring authors.
You can look at the words on this paper and, because they are the ones I am used to choosing, they will show you the shape of me. I am here to be read in the way you might read the impression of my weight in a bed after a still night, a restless night, a night not alone.
Remember you love writing. It wouldn’t be worth it if you didn’t. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back.
Read. As much as you can. As deeply and widely and nourishingly and irritatingly as you can. And the good things will make you remember them, so you won't need to take notes.
Inspiration comes unawares, from unaccountable sources that have nothing to do with planning or intelligence. Let it cool ever so slightly, and you are left, pen or brush in hand, with no inspiration at all. Gifted people need not, therefore, make a song and dance about being or supposing themselves superior. They simply happened to be born with that fortunate, subconscious equipment of theirs, and the mystery exists independently of intelligence or ambition.
It has always seemed to me that so long as you produce your dramatic effect, accuracy of detail matters little. I have never striven for it and I have made some bad mistakes in consequence. What matter if I hold my readers?
I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food I'm cooking.
Elegance means being beautiful both on the inside and out.
How many shows on TV do you see young black people, both women and men, really embody a full-fledged human being, flaws and all?
Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.