Thread by @garius

Okay. So you're all going to have to massively ignore me for a second. Because I am about to fanboy the SHIT out.

And it is about an amazing writer who got a stubborn little kid (me) who is now a writer (still me) to read.

So when I was a kid, I used to love TV, particularly scifi and cartoons. Basically anything with a plot.

But I wasn't big on reading. That was meh.

Then my mum introduced me to Doctor Who novelisations at about age nine. And I DEMOLISHED them. But that was ALL I would read

I think I LOVED the stories, but I was still not that fussed about reading. Because it felt like extra effort. I mean, why not just WATCH them if you can instead?

But then my teacher said: "oh you like Doctor Who. Did you know we have Star Trek books in the school library?"

So I was like "Whatever. Okay. I've run out of Doctor Who novelisations. I'll try a Star Trek one." And I went and grabbed the first one off the shelf.

And it

BLEW

MY

MIND

It was called "My Enemy, My Ally". And it was the most nuanced, clever, brilliant story this nine-year-old had ever read. I couldn't believe it could have been captured on TV. It was SO GOOD.

And when I told my mum about it she said that's because it hadn't. It was just a book.

And that was the first time, as a kid, I think I thought:

"Shit. Books are so MUCH more than TV."

I still have a copy of that issue of the book today.

Many years have passed since then. I have read many, many books. I have written so many words myself, some of which at least I hope you have enjoyed.

But - in a way - all of those words are owed to that first moment when I realised I COULD love words. At age nine with that book.

And just now, like a literary sledgehammer out of nowhere, I saw a retweet that genuinely knocked me for six:

Diane Duane. The very author that wrote that book, that made me love words in the first place, over 25 years ago.

So this thread is dedicated to @dduane. It is a sqeeeee for the RT, but also a HUGE thank you for putting me on the path to be the writer I am today.

It is ALSO a thank you to EVERYONE who writes now.

Because trust me: Out there, there are kids who are reading you too.