A way with words
Gareth Ward describes how some of his many hats inspire his writing.
Gareth Ward
My favourite place to write is slouched on my bed, my laptop sat on my knees, my dog Tonks sat on my feet. She is a rescue dog, a black-lab bitzer (bits of every breed can be seen in her) and she still thinks she is a tiny puppy, although she is actually the size of a small horse.
The bed is terrible for posture and soon hurts my back, so after an hour or so, I invariably end up in my office. I use the word “office” in the hope it will conjure up a wonderful image of some fantastic, professional-looking room rather than a freezing, glorified broom cupboard full of magic paraphernalia (I am also some- times known as The Great Wardini) and my collection of hats.
Some of the hats hold memories for me that inspire my writing: my commando-green beret, my old police helmet, my magician’s topper. Others, like my fez, are purely for fun, bought because of the 11th Doctor Who and because it would annoy my daughter if I had one and she didn’t.
I have normally checked my emails and Facebook by the time I get to my office, and I swear blind that I will concentrate on my writing and not get sucked in by the distraction of the internet. I open up my current project, a fantasy novel, stare at the screen, then check my emails and Facebook.
Unless I’m on an editing deadline, I try to write 500 new words every day. This is a manageable amount and my subconscious invariably seems to have crafted this much of a scene overnight. I embrace the quote from Ernest Hemingway, “The first draft of anything is shit”, so don’t concern myself with getting it right; I just want to put words onto the page.
Later, it will be edited many times.
I love editing; it’s my favourite part of writing. I’ve done the hard work getting the story down, and now it’s time to make it shine. I feel like a sculptor who has chiselled the rough shape of their masterpiece and is now teasing out the fine detail.
(I’ve never been a sculptor, but that’s how I imagine it must feel, and imagining things is what I do.)
So far in my career, I’ve been fortunate not to have writer’s block. Occasionally, I get stuck on a particular issue or plot point, but I find taking Tonks for a walk will prompt my brain into finding a solution. There’s something about her unfettered love of life that truly inspires me, or maybe it’s the glorious Hawke’s
Bay scenery.
Whatever the reason, I will return to my desk with the problem solved and finish my words for the day. Then I will bumble down to Wardini Books, our bookshop in Havelock North, and pretend to do some work, while actually just soaking in the magic of being surrounded by the words of wonder
ful authors.
“I embrace the quote from Ernest Hemingway, ‘The first draft of anything is shit.’”