Have You Always Had The Desire To Write
I didn't really write as a child. My thing was drawing. I loved English in school, though, and it was kind of effortless and fun for me. I loved grammar and composition. As a kid who tried to keep a low profile in school, I'd accidentally end up getting some attention to something I'd written as an assignment because a teacher liked it, and other kids ended seeing it (like when a teacher put a story I'd done for homework in the school paper). Not one of my proudest skills, but I was good at writing book reports on books I hadn't read (or had only read a paragraph here or there in).
Anyway, my close girlfriends had come to see me as "the writer among us" and would occasionally ask me to write something for them (like a college-admissions essay or a cover letter to get an interview for school or work - again, ).
As you can see, except for the nice thing about getting effortless "A's " in English, my writing beginnings weren't of the most admirable sort.
Looking back on my "early days", though, there's something that kind of means a lot to me, now, as adult. My two closest girlfriends just always talked about how I "could write". I'd talk about how I might write a book one day, but I was only seeing that as something I might do "on the side" - never as being "nothing but an author".
So, it was usual, when we three girlfriends would be talking about what we thought our futures held, for my two friends to talk about how they knew I'd write a book one day, and how I might end up "on the Johnny Carson". Every so often the issue of my one day writing a book and ending up on the Tonight show would be brought up by one of them (), and once the conversation went so far as to include what I might wear when I made my appearance. (and again, )
Well, life went on (and actually it didn't go on past 20 for one of those friends, which may make the memory more poignant and meaningful to me), and my friend and I went our own ways after several years. The thing is, even though I've since had people who don't seem to question whether I could ever write that book or not, I've not since had a time when someone (like those two friends) took it so for granted that there was no way in heck I would not write that book and end up being famous because of it. (I don't want to be famous, by the way. I almost quit a good job because I was expected to do a presentation for the whole company. I'm phobic about public exposure.)
It wasn't until I was single and out of school that I started to dabble in a little writing (but not much, because I was being young, being single, working, and dating).
Whether it was with my girlfriends or with my then boyfriend, I'd always say that my aim was to be published by the time I was 30. Well, the book hadn't yet happened because by then I had two children. Not long after a third was on the way. That's when I knew I had to find work I could do with 3 young children (and not let my resume "get stale), and that's when I applied for newspaper work and public relations work. That was when I started regularly freelancing for the first time.
On the one hand, I feel like I've always been a "writer by Nature". I know I've been collecting ideas for one thing or another in my head, but finding time to indulge those ideas hasn't been a luxury I've had (mostly because I've been happily living the rest of my life and haven't wanted to make those ideas a priority, beyond just "when I have the time"). On the other hand, while I find the act of writing fun, I almost see it as so much a part of me that I take it for granted, the way I take walking for granted.
Then again, I actually had much of the research and a completed outline for that one book all together, but when I got divorced I also ended up getting separated (physically) from the files that contained the outline and the rest of the material with it.
For me, I guess, writing has both been a part of my nature and also run alongside my life (and at one time or another been a part of it in some way), but it's also always been something I do for someone else (either a friend, a client, an employer, or even any readers). It's just fairly recently that I've started to notice I'm getting the urge to write as a way of expressing myself, regardless of all those other purposes. (Of course, at this stage in life I'm about sick to death of writing at all, so I don't know what's going to happen from here. )I guess I did.
As a child, I drew a lot and I got in the habit of creating stories during bedtime (I had bouts of insomnia so I needed to find ways to pass the time). So although I wasn't writing, I was often storytelling.
When I got slightly older (11 years old), I wrote my first story. It was quite long and I was proud of myself - until I lost the notebook I wrote it in!
After that, I wrote a lot of fanfiction, poetry, lyrics, and even one original piece of long fiction. Although I quite liked my story, the writing actually got worse over the chapters as I switched from the very formal way of writing that I used when I was 12-13 to a more casual style in the later years (16-17). I actually got worse as a writer over the years, probably because of all the fanfiction I used to read. That's why I never considered publishing my story as a book as it'd honestly need a full rewrite for all chapters past chapter 3.
After that, I had and still have difficulty writing stories. That's why now I'm focusing on educational writing (article and the phonics reference and workbooks I'd like to publish sometime this year). I hope I eventually get over this 6+ year fiction writer's block, but until then fanfiction's alright.
I'm thinking of writing short fiction stories/humor pieces to hopefully kick my fiction writer's block out.- Longhunterposted 13 years ago
0 - Home Girlposted 13 years ago0
I started with reading.I was taught late, when I was 6 years old. One summer day I was "fished out" from some sand box where I was happily making sand castles,brought into my room, cleaned a little, given an ABC book and told, 'now you are going to learn how to read.' I was devastated, I did not like the process, I cried, and all I wanted just to play outside... But when I learned how to do that, I could not stop reading. I was reading everywhere, I was reading everything I could get my hand on. I still haven't finished reading. As soon as I do, I will start writing, I promise...
I wanted to write a book but had no time in the past. Then in 2009 things changed and writing one became my mission. Today I'm on the forth chapter of my second book. So far so good
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