Writing for Enjoyment and Nothing Else

Do you ever write purely for enjoyment and nothing else? Do you ever write knowing that no one but you will see the words?

I do. And it is such a freeing experience. I can be anywhere in the house with my laptop or I can find a warm spot in the sunshine outside. I just allow the words to pour out of my head, through my fingertips onto my keyboard. I don’t worry about spelling or grammar or even whether it makes sense. The outcome is irrelevant. It is the process that I enjoy.I simply write random thoughts. It could be a list of things I’ve done that day, such as, ‘I bought a bag of jellybeans. They didn’t have enough cinnamon ones inside.’ Or I could right about something that’s worrying me or something that I’m feeling guilty about. I might write about my hopes and dreams or my fears. I find it therapeutic.

On other occasions, I actually create things, especially when I’m feeling playful. Phrases seem to appear out of nowhere, and I fuse them into poems or song lyrics. Conversations between imaginary characters may pop into my head and I quickly jot them down. Or part of a story flows onto the screen – it might not have a beginning or an end, but it doesn’t matter because all of these creations are just for me.

It’s my private time with my private thoughts. I write just for me. So have a go. Have a go at writing what you want. It’s not going to be marked by your teachers or judged by your parents, guardians or peers. It is just for you to enjoy!

And now I’ll say goodbye as Girls Heart Books is ending. It’s been great fun working with a fab team of authors. It’s been an honour to share my tips, my dreams, my thoughts with you. I’ve enjoyed it so much, I intend to carry on blogging on my own website: tamsincooke.co.uk. It would be wonderful to see you there one day.

Wishing you all the best,

Tamsin