Thanet Love

This is an entry into the Thanet Creative Writers Writers Writing Competition responding to The Thing I Love Most About Thanet Creative Writers. I have, of course, approached it obliquely in the actual piece so I'll say I like that it gets me feedback, I'm not just throwing words out on the internet for them to vanish without a trace.

What do you love most about Thanet Creative Writers?

Well this is awkward. Obviously it’s possible to feel love for an organisation, a group, a gathering of people formal or informal. Even fictional things can be loved. Sometimes I think that everyone I’ve ever loved were fictional!

That came out wrong.

I mean we’ve been hanging out for a few months now so perhaps I should have expected this. It’s just, you know, it feels like we’ve skipped a step or two.

It’s like this: I know you value words and don’t use them lightly. So when you say ‘What do you love about Thanet Creative Writers?’ you’re not using the word to mean something like ‘I would really love some ice cream’. There’s more emotion there. Not that there isn’t emotion about ice cream, but it’s an ephemeral thing, more of a crush than a...

Still, we’re not talking about settling down forever are we. It’s just, you know, a thing. You knew from the start I write elsewhere.

I knew you’d understand. That’s what I... that’s one of the great things about you.