Honesty.

I confess I am a bit of a compulsive liar in that I may be lying dead in a ditch somewhere if I didn't tell little white lies all the time. I think I was born a storyteller, because I always exaggerate things - you know that cut? Yeah, I was gonna die of blood loss.

But this whole Murdoch phone-hacking scandal thing has made me realize that there are writer's out there that don't write honestly. Honesty is the purest, most honourable trait in a human being, especially in writing because writing is a trade in a reader's world - and readers need to trust writers, honest writers. This is a reason why I actually hate Rita Skeeter over Lord Voldemort, because Lord Voldemort never pretends he is any less grotesque than he is. But real life Rita Skeeters? This is unbelievable. I look at the people this scandal has hurt, the money it has cost, everything, and it really makes me sick. Not from a legal/ethical point of view as such, but I am a writer and this is all that is dear to me. I'm sure there are many people in the food industry who died inside when that Chinese baby formula scandal rose a few years back, purely because they have corrupted what is the pride and joy of many people - this is the same for me. I know that there are people out there hijacking writing for monetary gain, and to be honest, I don't really have a problem with that. But when you start crossing people, and when you start crossing the law...art cannot be used as an excuse for criminal behaviour.

I acknowledge that art is essentially lying, especially in acting and writing - but there's a right way to do it. There's a difference between fiction and backstabbing. There's a difference between fantasy and reality. There's a difference between killing off characters and hurting real people and I'm shocked that grown men and women fail to see this.

I know I'm a little green - I'm young, I haven't even graduated, I don't write for money because at this point I don't really need to. I write because I love it, and because I'm good at it, but I know that there are others who do not have this luxury and I respect that. But there are plenty of writers - artists - who have a roof over their head, food on their tables and a clear conscience. Writing should not be about backstabbing, about infringing privacy and damaging lives and reputations. Writing shouldn't be about law suits and angry parliamentary debates and uproar. I write because I love it - and everything I write comes from my heart and soul. Writing is something I hold dear to me; it is my weapon through this war of life, and my friend through times of utter desperation and heartbreaking loneliness. Writing is something very personal, but also very pure, and it kills me that people abuse such a talent in such a way. I acknowledge that Murdoch and the people in his empire must be incredibly talented people, but talented people don't hurt others; talented people don't get thrown into jail and splashed across the news because they have broken an artist's code.