I just watched Bernard’s video on finishing his novel The Magnificent Guns of Seneca 6. This is the side of things a lot of readers don’t see, or think about. The real stress of translating something from the realm of your imagination to the printed (digital or not) page, and having it make sense. Having it inform and move people in ways that most art forms simply can’t.
Bernard looks genuinely knackered in this video, in contrast to his elation when he is finished.
It’s the mark of a real, honest-to-god writer. Because whilst others might be thinking ‘I wouldn’t put myself through that again’, you just know Bernard will do it over and over again. He’s probably already plotting his next novel. It’s the nature of the beast; what Michael Chabon calls ‘The Midnight Disease.’ It’s the thing that keeps us all up at night, tapping away in isolation. Committing ourselves to paper. Opening our hearts and letting the reader see how we tick.
We writers do it because we have to. It’s our thing. But we also do it for the readers. Watch this video. It shows you a little bit of how much a book takes it out of a writer. Because in the end it’s all for your enjoyment.
Congratulations, Bernard. Now grab yourself a coffee, and get to work on Superbia 3!
Tony Healey 