On reading and writing.

I’ve always been a reader. As far back as I can remember, I’ve had a book in my hand, or at the very least something to read in front of me. When I was little, I’d happily sit at the breakfast table with my cornflakes, reading the back of the cereal packet as though it held the secrets of the universe. Ingredients, puzzles, silly cartoons — it didn’t matter. The point was simply to be reading.

That habit has never really left me. These days, I’ll often catch myself reading the label on a jar of jam in the supermarket while my partner looks on, amused. And it’s not just packets, of course. I love novels, biographies, histories, poetry, essays — anything that pulls me into another world or offers me a glimpse into another mind. There’s such a comfort in that.

Writing, I suppose, grew naturally out of all that reading. Friends and family know I get a real joy out of it. There’s something very special about creating a world of my own, and then stepping inside it with my characters. At the start of a new story, I’ll usually sketch out a plan — the broad strokes of a plot, and how I imagine my characters will grow. But the curious thing is, sooner or later, the characters start talking back.

It sounds odd to say, but they really do develop lives of their own. Suddenly they’re insisting, ‘No, I wouldn’t do that!’ or steering the story in a direction I hadn’t anticipated. It can be a little disconcerting, but also rather magical. More than once, I’ve found the whole shape of a book changing because of the way a character demanded to be written.

I sometimes wonder if that’s part of the fun — not knowing quite where the journey will take you, whether as a reader or as a writer. A book is a living thing, in a way. Even when I’m reading, the characters feel so real that I half expect to bump into them in the high street.

So, here’s a question for you: did you read cereal packets too, or was that just me? And for those who write — do your characters sometimes take on a life of their own and lead you down unexpected paths?

I’d love to hear your stories. After all, half the joy of reading and writing is sharing the adventure with others.