Writing releases a rare rapture

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is ‘how do you come up with something different to write about every week?’. My reply is that this is easy. I picture myself back in school and the teacher saying, ‘I want you to write a composition and you can write about anything you like’. An easy one…

First, please believe me when I say that this week’s offering is not meant to be about ‘blowing my own coal’. I just want to tell you about the pleasures and satisfaction of writing; how good it has been for me and perhaps might be for you also.

I was a timid and insecure boy growing up. The eldest of our family and with nobody to save me from the big school bully; but I was very good in class and my greatest confidence booster was that Master Lawlor would regularly read out my English composition for the class. Following on from there, Master O’Reilly in the ‘Tech’ did likewise.

I made a journal for myself at home, often using the back pages of old copies. Nobody got to read my thoughts, but writing it down allowed me to express my feelings and frustrations. I wrote and I wrote! I had a ghost story published in the Farmer’s Journal and a letter read out by J Ashton Freeman on Radio Éireann. I had a few pen-pals in Ireland and America. Would you believe that I could still tell you the names and addresses of a couple of them. Where are they now, I wonder…

In adulthood, I wrote the odd letter to newspapers. Then in the late 1980s I started submitting ‘Mullingar Squash and Leisure Notes’ for the local papers and a few bits for the Evening Press. In order to make the notes interesting for non-members, I widened the appeal and it worked. I received great encouragement from Mr Nally, the then editor of the Westmeath Examiner. During the first couple of years we were establishing our business in Spain, I wrote a weekly column; ‘An Irishman Abroad’ for the Westmeath Topic.

The platform to write a column is a unique privilege and I have been doing this one for 18 years; having been invited to come on board by then Westmeath Examiner editor, Ronan O’Donoghue. Writing is therapeutic. Everybody can write. I encourage my grandchildren to write and my two eldest grandsons are great writers – even if I am the one to say it!

To be a writer, I believe that you first must be a prolific reader. As a kid, I read everything I could get my hands on (including stuff I shouldn’t!). Reading and writing force your brain to exercise by painting a picture in your head. You are not a passive bystander to the story, as you would be from watching something on TV.

Young people like to be creative. Children like to draw pictures and write words down. This is the time that parents need to encourage writing. All you require is a pencil and pad. Forget about the iPad, PlayStation and smartphone. Those will of course have their uses, but there is nothing better to stimulate imagination than encouraging the child to write a story or write about their day.

Teenagers could write notes from their schools or communities. Perhaps an editor might be interested in publishing some of it? You never know until you try. And just think how it would look on a CV down the road.

I just want to make the case that my writing came solely from that humble desk in Johnstown National School. I have gone on to be able to write articles and reports for a number of newspapers including this one. I have done a GAA column, a ‘travel talk’ and numerous bits and pieces and have received an editor’s nomination for ‘Columnist of the Year’. I have published four books and my autobiography sold 3,000 copies. There aren’t too many things in my life that have helped me more or given greater satisfaction than writing. Getting feedback when a reader goes to the trouble of letting you know they enjoy your writing gives you a great boost. If you choose to write for public consumption, it has to be something people want to read.

To be recognised by being invited to participate in The Goldsmith Literary Festival, Listowel Writers Week and Delvin Book Fair on occasion means a lot to me – as indeed has been asked to launch the books of local authors Mick Duffy and Paddy Gaynor. And speaking of local authors – I have started reading the books of Shay Callaghan and Brendan Martin and you should too. There is a long line of Westmeath writers out there who shouldn’t be forgotten about.

So, as the man said; ‘don’t tell me – write it down!’

Don’t Forget

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.