Where is the magic?

It seems that nowadays just about anyone can write a book. Katie (Jordan) has one, Paris Hilton even that guy who just won X - Factor about a week ago has one. Whether they be a Z lister or an A, just about every celeb has a book. Let me ask you something? Where is the magic? Is there really anything special about reading or writing a book anymore? Was there ever? Are the words we print on a page in size 12 Font, Times New Roman, just words and not a story? Have we forgotten how to write a story? Have we forgotten how to create another world filled with a journey and new characters and have we, sometime ago, just lost our ability to be imaginative?

I'd like to think we haven't (optimistic?). I'd like to think that there are still books out there and writers who can pluck me from my world and introduce me to a new one. That's why I love to read. It might sound weird but I enjoy it. I enjoy the escape to an alternate universe and seeing a world through someone else's eyes. However, reading just stopped being enough for me. I wasn't satisfied with just reading about other people's worlds. So then I decided to create my own.

To cut a long story short(ish), I became inspired by a book I had as a child call Comus. It was a re-telling, for children, of John Milton's 1634, Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle by Margaret Hodges. The first story I had ever written was based on that book. I described the haunted scenery that I had imagined while reading the story. From that, Edgar Allan (Allen?) Poe got to me. I was inspired by the gothic writing style. His pain drew from him what I considered to be art. The first time I read the Tell Tale Heart I was chilled but intrigued.

I started to write gothic themed poetry during my Edgar Allan Poe love affair. I rarely wrote about death, just pain. At the time I think it helped me. Thankfully, I moved on from that genre and fell in love with fantasy and crime. (Laughs to self) I remember the first story I started seriously writing was about a medallion and some kind of quest, something weird and dramatic. I felt such a joy creating it and showing it to my mom (she loved it :D)

But I feel like I'm getting off track (which isn't hard for a gal like me...) What was I talking about again? Oh, right! A journey. (Don't you dare start singing 'Don't Stop Believing'!! I've had enough of Journey to last me a lifetime - Thank you Glee... <3

So... at the moment I'm writing this book and I'm in love with it. I love my characters, their town, their beliefs, even though they can be rather ridiculous, I just enjoy getting to know them all individually. It's a fictional crime novel by the way. I've been slightly *cough cough* obsessed with crime related topics from about age 11. (I'm even taking a Criminology course at University.) I feel like, with this novel, I'm going on a journey and entering this new world. Someday when it's finished (God willing it'll be soon *fingers crossed*) people will read my book and feel compelled to create.

Finally...

It sounds kinda corny by my inspiration for my novel came from a sunset. I was in a car (it was actually a horrible bright red van -no offence to the driver-) being driven home from school. I was just sitting there when I noticed the sun going down. It was the most beautifully yet haunting site I'd ever witnessed. The clouds were a ruby orange and perfectly placed in the middle of this lovely setting was the sun. Just then, as I was viewing this gorgeous site, a thought planted itself into my head to write a story, the story I'm currently writing.

I will never forget that sunset or the book that challenged me to create.