I was born a word wizard into a family of mathemagicians. Numbers defeat me and in spite of the self-help philosophy, “Do what you love and the money will follow,” I’m still waiting for fame and fortune. Yet I have always known I don’t write for money, but for the sheer pleasure of working out how best to tell a story, write a poem, present opinion and win an argument.

To this end, I shot the Nine Muses and created two of my own: Clarity and Flow. I don’t strive, in myself or when working with others, for literary merit. Let that be determined by the reader or posterity. What I do strive for is readability, and I knew it first in the books I read for the sheer pleasure of entering other worlds.

I am a word wizard and here’s my magic spell for writers: “No hocus pocus. Simply focus.”

Focus on the idea. Focus on the observation. Focus on the emotion. Focus on the words. Though I don’t shirk the serious, it’s the sheer fun of playing with words that I like best. If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.

I am a life member of Tauranga Writers.