Generally, I would say that most people that know me would say, that I do like to talk. Interestingly I think that being garrulous (fond of talking) is more often associated with being and extrovert, where as I am most definitely an introvert. I like to tell stories and give examples to illustrate my point and I'm sure the teams I've worked with will remember these from morning meetings or training.
I'd like to think though, that I don't talk for talkings sake. I'd like to think that the extra words added something to the experience. I've always talked a lot - I'm sure my school report cards are a testament to that, as I've got older I think I've changed. Now I'm happier to go long periods of time without saying anything at all.
I've lost count of the times someone has told me 'you should write a book' when I've been regaling them with tales from my earlier life. And I'd smiled knowing that one day all of these things would feed into my writing.
I've mentioned in this blog before that I often think I wasted time not writing and I've often thought about what I could have achieved if I'd only got on with it. The flip side of that coin is that time has given me a different voice. I've had the opportunity to experience more, talk to more people, learn and observe.
If I got published twenty years ago I wonder if it would truly have been the best work I could've produced. We'll never know. I've had some great reviews for my books (and here's a shameless plug if you enjoyed my books and haven't yet left me a review please pop over to amazon or goodreads and jot a couple of lines down - I do really appreciate it) one of the best and nicest things to hear/read in reviews is how much people have enjoyed the characters. When people say that character was really believable or the characters felt real - even the bad guys I get a real buzz from that.
I'll be 47 this year and my head is still full of ideas that I'm looking forward to writing, I can't see that changing any time soon and luckily I have a lifetime of living to use to help me in my creative endeavours.
I see all the time the lists of people who are successful under 30 or what so and so achieved by 21 and that's admirable and all, I'll never say otherwise but I'd like to see the lists of what people achieved when they were older when they had to juggle full time jobs, children and paying the mortgage/rent. The type of list that says something like Susan Smith 45, worked at Tesco on a rotating shift, is married and has three children ages 13, 10 and 7 just completed her degree in, or has started a successful business, or published her first book.
A very famous influencer was recently shot down in flames for saying we all have the same 24 hours and whilst I agree that none of us (that I'm aware of) have any time shifting powers (more's the pity). The truth is that if you have to be at work by 9am and have to get 3 children out of the house and to school/day care before hand and after you have to help with homework, run errands etc then the time physically available to work on something else is not the same.
A dear friend of mine said recently of an Open University degree they're doing that they feel like they could've done more. And I thought about everything that had happened in the years they'd been doing it and thought - you've done an amazing job and should be thoroughly proud of yourself.
I've always had a lot to say but as I've got older I've had the benefit that only getting older can give you and that's experience and time and I'd like to hope that all that adds up to me being a better writer than I might've been twenty years ago.