Writing – Opher Goodwin the writer and author

Writing is an immensely enjoyable process. You take your thoughts, dreams, ideas and stories and organise them into words. Each word has a precise definition and by grouping them together you can capture and contain the meaning in a way that is intelligible to other people.

It is great fun. You try your hardest to find the right words and order of words to convey the thoughts and tales in your head. If you are successful then when you or someone else reads those words it conjures up the pictures, thoughts, feelings and ideas that were in your mind at the time. We can imagine it just as I originally imagined it. That is magic!

When it goes well it flows along; the words leap into place in your head and stream out through your finger tip into the computer to appear as sentences on the screen. There is a great euphoria to this. There is a profound concentration. It is mystical. A writer tries to get completely in tune with their mental processes. When that works and you read back through and it conveys what you were trying to express and brings it to life it is immensely satisfying.

I am a writer and have been most of my life. I started writing stories and ‘books’ forty five years ago and coincidentally have written 45 books!

I am a controversial author. I do not intend to be nor do I set out to offend or shock. I intend to write honestly about my feelings, views, thoughts and experiences. When I write I do not pull punches, hold back, write for a particular audience, or censor myself. This means that if I am writing about sex, politics, religion, torture or the environment, all of which tend to crop up in my novels, I tell it like it is, graphically, without restraint. Some find this upsetting, pornographic, offensive or distressing.

As a writer I am not concerned with other people’s responses as long as I am true to my own vision and am expressing myself as well as I can. My intent is to be honest and as vivid as it is possible for me to be.

Long live controversial writing! I can live with controversy far better than violence, aggression, intolerance or bigotry.