What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote?
I've been reading far longer than I can remember. I loved all the well known children's books like Amelia Bebelia and everything by Dr. Seuss, but when I was older I started to look books closer to series like Goosebumps and Animorphs. Living in the mountains a good hour away from town gave me a lot of time to curl up with these books as a child.
I didn't begin to write until middle school, it never occurred to me before than that I could write anything past school work at all. A close friend of mine showed me that people wrote for fun, without getting published, and posted their stories online just to share them. I started to do the same, though she was really the only person who ever read anything I managed to finish.
I have always loved reading and probably started where most of us did. At the breakfast table, reading the back of the cereal box. I loved all the books we read at school. I was curious as to why Dick and Jane ran or sat.I wanted to know what they were thinking when they were watching Spot run or jump. And I was so proud that I could read them without help. Who taught me to love reading was Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved reading her story from the "Little House in the Big Woods" to "These Happy Golden Years" I suppose these were the "Harry Potter's" of my childhood. Well without the wizards. There was another series of books that I cannot for the life of me remember. I know that the main character was a young girl that was always in trouble.
I wrote in school because we had to. I have the same trouble now as I had then. I get this great idea and sit down to write my great novel. And by the time It is finished, it won't even hold up as a short story. My characters scream for me to write about them, but as soon as I do, They just shut up.
I have more luck to my craft if I write more as a commentator or narrator. It seems when I sit back and analyze and write my feelings about certain subjects or even characters, I actually can be quite insightful. In fact after I go back and read it, It is Like WOW, who wrote that. Of course sometimes it is more like ..what, you have to be kidding, who wrote this junk. I am sure that even the most creative writers have days where they cannot get it right the first dozen time.
Of course my teachers read my first writing. I think when I was in school, writing was not that important. As long as you wrote it and they could read it and it was in on time, you usually got an A. That part where it had to be turned in NEAT and on Time...well that was the hardest. Without computers and only manual typewriters that only the richer kids had access to...well that left me with my trusty pencils and ball point ink pens.
My first paying job was for a company called ODesk. I describe them as a clearing house where providers are looking for contractors to write web content, articles, blogs. Some jobs are for creative people who can do web design. All different levels of pay and experience are accepted. You do have to run some software that links your computer to a program.
The first job I did for them was Web Content for a new Website. After that I wrote for a young man in London. He ran a business website of Mobil phones. He offered me plenty of constructive criticism as well as confidence and praise. It wasn't long before the middle man was out and I was working directly for him and got a raise. I enjoyed working with him, but his business took off into a different direction. I wasn't qualified to go there. I do miss his input and his cultural difference from the other side of the pond.
You get this idea that you could write a blog and get paid for it. But writing about something that others want to actually read is harder than it you think. You know if it you have a theme or genre that would make it easier, but mine is just by the seat of my pants. I do have more traffic and if I would write more interesting stuff and if someone would just start clicking on the ads, I would have more than 2.63 in my account. I have to say I got excited about that. I had .44 for the very longest time. Whoo hoo... I digress in my interview here. I am still trying to figure out why someone one wants me to interview. I suppose they can ask me to leave. :)   | | |
According to my mother, I was reading the newspaper when I was 2. She would ask me where I learned to read, and I would answer, "I learned in high school." I honestly cannot remember a time when I could not read.
The first books I read were, of course, storybooks, Little Golden Books, that sort of thing. Comic books were frowned upon in my house, although I did have several Big Little Books, which were basically comic books by another name. (Since I was a teenager I have collected many of the Big Little Books from the 1930s and 1940s.)
I used to write little stories all the time when I was a pre-schooler. One of my early works was "The Pig Who Ate Cake," in which a swine with a sweet tooth suffers a life crisis when his birthday cake is stolen. The cake somehow escapes its abductors and runs home on tiny cake-y legs, just in time for the party. I remember making miniature books and selling them to my friends for nickels and dimes; even at an early age, I was a thorough professional.
I've always read everything I can get my hands on - from Nancy Drew to the toothpaste tube. I dabbled a bit with writing as a child and teen, mostly angsty poetry and song lyrics. After my daughter was born, I really focused on my writing, working on both craft and production. I published my first story in 2006 and have been writing seriously since then.
Enid Blyton. I started writing as a hobby and post my creative writing stint from Xaviers, I took writing more seriously. My friends were the first to read my novel.
I remember when I first began reading, I read anything I could get my hands on, from the stereotypical cereal box to whatever my Grade 1 teacher would let me borrow from her classroom stash of books. I loved reading - it filled my head with ideas and information, and took me to another world.
I started to write initially in Grade 3, when my teacher at that time introduced us to poetry. I was enthralled. It was as if that first assignment to write a poem opened a floodgate. It's never been closed since.
The first to read what I wrote were my family. Later, I would show my writing to friends. I still have certain friends who I make use of as "test readers". They are my most trusted critics. I also had several English teachers who encouraged me. I'm very grateful for Miss Morrison, in particular - who taught me Grade 11 and Grade 12 English and kept in touch with me for many years. She was tough - and she believed in me. It was an invaluable combination that really helped me to get both the discipline and art of writing. | | |
I have always been an avid book reader. My father was in the military so I lived abroad during my childhood. You could often find me at the library. My favorite childhood author is Roahl Dahl. I also liked reading a book series called Dorrie the Witch. I was always attracted to whimsical stories with an unlikely hero. From the time I was in second grade, I knew I wanted to be a children's book author.
I wrote for my high school literary magazine and my college newspaper. The most memorable thing I wrote as a child was a collection of poetry I compiled in the fifth grade. I put all of the poems in a notebook with accompanying illustrations. I dedicated the book to "anyone and everyone who reads this." It was such a heartfelt collection of poems and I remember how hard I worked on the "book."
When I was 12, I even wrote to "Dear Abby," who had an advice column in the Stars and Stripes newspaper. I asked her for advice on how to get published and she told me to do my research and go to the public library. Those words stayed with me and the public library became a haven. | | |
I believe the first book I read was a Dr. Suess book. My mother could probably tell you, because I certainly can't. Let's say "Green Eggs and Ham" when I was two years old. That sounds about right.
I started writing in elementary school, when everyone learns basic written skills. The idea of make-believe and storytelling always fascinated me and I just wanted to keep doing it. Teachers were the first people to actually read what I wrote and give me constructive criticism for it, as opposed to just a grade. |
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