Write because you love it and not because it is something that you think you should do. Always write about something or somebody you know about - something that you feel deeply and passionately about. Never try and force it.
Interpretation
Write for the love of it, not out of obligation, and write about what you genuinely care about.
This quote emphasizes the importance of passion and authenticity in writing. Michael Morpurgo suggests that true creativity comes from a place of love and personal connection to the subject, rather than from external pressures or obligations. By encouraging writers to express their feelings and experiences, he advocates for a more genuine and fulfilling approach to the craft.
In practice
This quote could be used in a creative writing workshop to inspire participants to find their authentic voice.
There is the myth that writing books for children is easier than writing books for grownups, whereas we know that truly great books for children are works of genius, whether it's 'Alice in Wonderland' or the 'Gruffalo' or 'Northern Lights.' When it's a great book, it's a great book, whether it's for children or not.
Strange questions are the more interesting ones. Children by and large don't try to trip you up... they want to find out how you do this funny thing that you do... if they've loved a story they love to know how it started.
Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.
It is really important that focusing on things such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting doesn't inhibit the creative flow. When I was at school there was a huge focus on copying and testing and it put me off words and stories for years.
The most important thing is to live an interesting life. Keep your eyes, ears and heart open. Talk to people and visit interesting places, and don't forget to ask questions. To be a writer you need to drink in the world around you so it's always there in your head.
Film’s thought of as a director’s medium because the director creates the end product that appears on the screen. It’s that stupid auteur theory again, that the director is the author of the film. But what does the director shoot-the telephone book? Writers became much more important when sound came in, but they’ve had to put up a valiant fight to get the credit they deserve.
Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.
There are thousands of ragas, and they are all connected with different times of the day, like sunrise or night or sunset. It is all based on 72 of what we call 'mela' or scales. And we have principally nine moods, ranging from peacefulness to praying, or the feeling of emptiness you get by sitting by the ocean.
Film is this incredible medium that allows us to feel empathy for people that are very different than us and worlds completely foreign from our own.
Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams.
I am trying to counter the fixity of architectures, their stolidity, with elements that give an ineffable immaterial quality.
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