Please welcome author Shonell Bacon as she tells us what motivates her to write. She is on tour promoting her new book, Into the Web.
Giveaway Details:
Why I Write by Shonell Bacon
A few years ago, I had to write an essay in which I
had to answer the question, “Why is writing important to your life?” It's a
question I had to think deeply about because they expected no more than five
pages, but surely more than one sentence. My response was a simple one, “I
write to breathe.” Eventually, after some brainstorming and a little cajoling,
I was able to expand upon that one sentence, but everything I wrote came back
to that one sentence: “I write to breathe.”
I always found it hard to say aloud to people what I
always felt in my soul: “I was born to write. God told me this is what I was to
do with my life.” I didn't want people to think I thought I was ALL THAT or
high on myself. So, I kept it to myself and diligently wrote, waiting for the
day when the truth would come to light. Slowly, now, light trickles upon the
truth though I am still on my journey to the full flooding of light.
Developing Into
the Web was an illustration of that needing writing to breathe. Jovan and
Cheyenne Parham, the main characters of ITW and the first book of the series, Death at the Double Inkwell, endeared
themselves to me. Here, I had two characters that I could follow throughout the
course of several books and watch them grow, learn, change, develop. In the
midst of writing DDIW, I assumed it would be the only book about these women,
but as soon as I wrote the final words, I knew there would be another. Their
stories were not done, and I was the only one that could pen their stories and
bring them to live.
At the end of the day, I know
that my major goal in life is to tell stories, stories that cover an array of
black experiences, stories that allow others to see a part of themselves and
hopefully, to see a part of me reflected within the words. I write to smile, I write to cry, I write to
laugh, I write to understand, but ultimately, I write to breathe. Without my words, without my ability to
translate what bothers me, excites me, annoys me, hurts me, I'm not really sure
how I would survive. Words are my truth,
and the truth will set me free.
About the author:
Shonell Bacon is an author, doctoral candidate, editor,
educator–every woman. She
She has had an essay of
hers developed as part of a live theatre documentary production. In addition to
her love of writing and what the future holds in her literary life, she is also
an editor who loves helping writers hone their literary craft. Since 2001, she
has edited for hundreds of writers who have gone on to pursue self-publishing
careers and have been published within the traditional publishing arena. Her
love for helping writers also moved her to begin writing articles and
commentaries regarding the writing life and craft, and she publishes these
articles on various
websites. She is an educator, having taught English and mass
communication courses in addition to fiction writing and other courses related
to creative writing. And while taking part in all of those things, Shonell also
finds the time to pursue her Ph.D. in Technical Communication and Rhetoric at
Texas Tech University. Now a doctoral candidate, she is conducting research and
writing her dissertation.
Connect with with the author here: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Blog
Connect with with the author here: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Blog
2 comments:
Enjoyed the guest post. Thanks for sharing! emily joy drake at gmail dot com
Congratulations on your accomplishments! This was very encouraging.Thanks for sharing this...your answer to the question was well said:
I write to smile, I write to cry, I write to laugh, I write to understand, but ultimately, I write to breathe. Without my words, without my ability to translate what bothers me, excites me, annoys me, hurts me, I'm not really sure how I would survive. Words are my truth, and the truth will set me free.
God Bless you,
Won
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