Writing – The Cure for Boredom
Growing up on a farm in the Canadian prairies, I was often bored. Too far from neighbours and not interested in playing boy games with my younger brothers, I made up friends in my head.
We would go on adventures together, travelling to faraway lands and meeting incredible characters. Television didn’t appear in our house until I was ten years old, so the movies I created in my mind became my entertainment.
Wandering the lonely, flat prairies, I turned the landscape into busy metropolises, grand seascapes or dense forests.
Curious about how other people lived, I read whatever I could get my hands on.
This added fuel to my imaginary world and kept the boredom at bay.
My adult life was busy with raising children, building a career, taking courses and volunteering. I still got bored easily and turned to my old habit of making up stories. I began to write them down and eventually sent some short stories to competitions.
To my surprise, I won a few prizes! A couple of my stories were chosen to be included in anthologies.
I was a grandmother of four by the time my first book was published. Now I have a series of four books published about a young girl who travels the world, has exciting adventures and meets interesting people.
All because I don´t like to be bored.
Curiosity killed the cat, so they say. But I think curiosity creates the cat.
To be a writer, it is necessary to be curious. You need to constantly wonder, what if? When I get stuck in my writing, or get bored, I transport myself to another world with unique situations and amazing people. The bored little girl with the unstoppable curiosity starts creating again.
Many authors get asked the question, “Why do you write?”
I might well answer as Author Dorothy Parker did:
“To cure my boredom.
The cure for boredom is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity.”
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Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
Darlene I can relate to your post. Like you I grew up in a farm and as a teenager longed tto live in the big city. Reading books kept me sane. I am loving your book…Amanda in England.
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So pleased you are enjoying my book. I am sure there have been many young farm girls wishing they lived in the city. At seventeen I left and never looked back. Of course now I appreciate the rural upbringing I was blessed with.
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Thank goodness for boredom. Nice post, Darlene. 🙂
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I think boredom has created many a story, painting or creative endeavour.
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Great guest post!! Thanks for sharing!!
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Thanks Kirt!
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Interesting post and fun to learn more about Darlene!
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Glad you enjoyed it Marcia!
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Darlene is such a talented writer and a lovely lady. Thank you for sharing this guest post Chris.
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My pleasure Barbara 😀
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How very kind of you Barbara.
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No wonder you love to travel, explore and write. Curiosity has been your inspiration and guide. Lovely interview.
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My secret is out! It was very kind of The Story Reading Ape to have me as a guest.
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I’ve been asked the same question: why do you write?
My answer is always the same: I can not NOT write.
Sometimes I think about switching the answer around on them and saying, “The question is not ‘why do I write’, but ‘why don’t you write?'”
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That would make people stop and think wouldn´t it! You must try it and tell me what happens.
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Curiosity – you’ve got it in spades. Great guest post!
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Thanks Marian! You have an abundance of it as well.
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