Why I write? By Romario Ashley

What does it mean to write? What does it mean to pull words out of the air and create images for others to see? For a long time, I ignored those questions and I was content with living a life I thought I wanted. I’ve always been creative but for some reason, I always channeled my passions the wrong way. I wrote from time to time, back then it was a passing fancy at best. I graduated from culinary school and plied my trade thinking that the void in my heart would be filled if I only spent more time in kitchens, more time slaving away over a hot stove for a paycheck and the possibility of a dream coming true, knowing it would never come.

And then I decided to travel the world; I quit the culinary life and travelled the world for two years, learning, exploring, and doing what I could to understand where life was leading me. While teaching English in Taiwan I began to keep a dream journal, writing down my dreams every night gave me a sense of closure, it was a way to see what really haunted my many restless nights and after a while I realized, not only was I sleeping better, but I was happy. So, I continued to write.

The writing didn’t stop because I didn’t see a reason to stop it. Every word I put to page, every idea I wrote down, and every short story I finished-good or bad-filled me with a sense of elation and joy that I didn’t know had existed before. I was chasing a dream of sharpened steel and for a long time, I forgot that the pen is mightier than the sword, that the void in my heart wouldn’t be filled by a Santoku knife, but rather by the putting of pen to paper. Why do I write? Infinite happiness, that’s what it brings me.

Romario Ashley is a Jamaican-Canadian writer of books, screenplays, and television pilots. His second short story collection “A Melancholy Princess” is currently in progress. When not writing he can be found playing far too much Magic the Gathering or acting as an innocent bystander in your favorite film or TV series.

Find him on social media

Twitter & IG @Jamaicanwaldo

The Cheerful Prince can be found at:

www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-cheerful-prince

www.amazon.com/dp/B07RJKZNJW