It is difficult to call to mind those things that have an influence on our writing just as it is to identify what influences our lives and the way we live. There is much that we can recall. We all can point to family; my grandfather always said this or that, I remember the way my father looked or acted, my mother was a single mom, we grew up poor or privileged, we lived on a farm or in the tenements or in a war-torn country. These things are easy to recall and, certainly, they have all had an influence on our writing in one way or another. They have had an influence on who we are. But what about those people, places, events that are not as easy to recall or identify? Have you never been in the process of developing a character and realized, oh my gosh, Walter is beginning to sound just like that friend of my Dad’s he talked about so often? Well…if you haven’t I would be surprised. There are simply too many influences that we cannot recall or that we are completely unaware of to answer the question asked far too often; “So what has had the most influence on your writing?” In a recent interview I thought I did a pretty good job of giving a thoughtful answer to that question. But, on reflection, I think I did not. The question posed was broader than that but came down to the same thing. They wanted to know which of my rolls in life, teacher, director, actor or writer had the strongest influence on my work as an author. I tried my best to explain that perhaps my career as an educator and what I needed to do to prepare for that role gave me the perspective, the training and the opportunity to be a teller of the written story. The more I engaged my students, the more we discovered about stories together and the more I heard their stories the more the world opened up to me as an author. Well…all true I suppose but is that really the whole story? No, of course not. What about that actor whose insight and creative genius, without my even registering it, set me on a path that turned out to be the most important influence of all on my writing and I never knew it or gave credit for it? So, I simply suggest the following: When, as writer, you are asked that ubiquitous question (and you will be even if it has already been asked) maybe the most truthful response is, “I don’t know. Maybe your asking me that question might be it. We just never really know do we?”
Dealing With “LIKE” Our Changing Language
I am sure you have, like myself, noticed the change in our English language over the last decade or more. Some of those changes, of course, are part of a living language and are to be expected. Some are also simply cultural. Whether it’s part of ethnicity or regionalism or simply a fad of the…
Can We Make A Difference
I think perhaps my career as an educator and what I needed to do to prepare for that role gave me the perspective, the training and the opportunity to be a teller of the written story. The more I engaged my students, the more we discovered about stories together and the more I heard their…
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul”
Authors write for all kinds of reasons I suppose. Some for money some for fame, for a career or as an avocation, because someone challenged them perhaps. Maybe it is to entertain or to enlighten, to frighten or to move to tears or to laughter. Yet, I suspect that, whatever the superficial reasons, underneath it…
Author | J E Delehanty 
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