I first started reading comics. (There is this compilation of illustrated stories called the Panchatantra. It's famous in India for having a moral in every story.) I then moved on to Enid Blyton when I was 7. Mallory Towers, Secret Seven, Famous Five, Five Findouters etc. As a teenager my taste began to evolve and I began to include books by Khaled Hosseini and Jean Sasson. I am an avid reader. I never go anywhere without a book in my bag. I feel incomplete with out it. I started writing when I was 5 I think. I never thought I was any good at all. I wrote a lot of essays and short stories that got me good grades in school. It's only when I was 20 that I realized I wanted to write for a living. I discovered I loved being a copywriter and that's how I broke into the profession.
(Umm my dad was the first to read what I wrote way back when I had mailed him a letter about what I was doing in school when he was working in the Middle-East. My first professional piece of work was read by the Creative Director of JWT.)   | | |
Some of my earliest favorite reads were The Black Stallion series, as well as other books about horses and dogs. That was as a child. As a teen and young adult I discovered Hemingway, Steinbeck, and other 20th Century writers and fell in love with their work.
I started writing as a child, horse stories, and some of the first to read my work was my grandfather. He encouraged me to keep writing, then a teacher entered a story of mine in the Scholastic Writing Awards contest and it won an honorable mention. I was twelve when that happened and dreamed of being rich and famous some day.
Lots of hindia poetry. And popular english fiction. Always used to write hindi poetry. My parents.
I first read Dr. Suess when I was about six. I have basically memorized The Cat In The Hat but my favourite book was Sugarplum. The story is about a doll that runs away and gets into mischief. Alas, I cannot find it anywhere.
I started to write in a diary that my sisters frequently stole. They were a nuisance.
The first book I remember reading was Defoe's classic Robinson Crusoe. I was completely enchanted by it and I think it influenced by rather nomadic lifestyle since. I was always interested in writing and enjoyed my English language and literature classes at school, but it wasn't until much, much later that I started writing for a living. I suppose the first people to read any of my work were those buying my first book.
The first two books that I really enjoyed- babyish books- were a book named "Pigwig" and a book named "The Lion Who Wanted To Love", but the first substantial books I got into were the Harry Potter books. Driven by the love to read, all through school I wrote, for family and teachers, then I decided that I had enough ideas to write a book like all those I read. The first to read that book, now in pre-publication editing stage, were family and close friends.
To Kill A Mockingbird was the first book I remember reading that inspired me to write. After reading that book, a family friend commited suicide and I wrote as an outlet for the grief. Poetry, I found it to be healing.
I don't think any sane human being can claim they remember the first thing they read. I'd have to say the first thing I can recall reading was "The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Over the Lazy Dog!" back in preschool or something.
How did I begin to write... That's actually a rather difficult question. I'm sure most authors have a wonderful story of how they came up with the idea and inspiration for their book, but honestly, I was just riding in the back of the Jeep, listening to my iPod, and suddenly I had a 30% serious 70% joking idea to write a book. Then I thought, "You know, that's actually not such a bad idea!"
My dad and step mom were the first to read what I wrote. They were the first to critique it.
I remember quite well the first book I read completely: it was a booklet (I long forgot its title) borrowed from American Library in Bucharest, back in 1987. It was describing a family from the stone age, its day to day routine, handiwork, hunting, gathering, waging wars between neighbor villages, burials, newborn babies, witchcraft, these sort of things. For me it was a great achievement not because the book itself (it didn't have more than 40 pages), but because my courage: in communist Romania of that time, to step the threshold of an institution like American Library was... well, it was something.
The book was "Lorna Doone". After that was "Black Beauty". Then Mark Twain, with "Tom Sawyer" (these ones I remember well). Then I don't know: Hemingway, Ken Kesey, Harper Lee... many. The most difficult was Faulkner! Along with Shakespeare, of course...
I have no idea when I begun to write in Romanian. In primary school, I presume, but I really don't know. The oldest pages I keep, covered with my handwriting, are from highschool (I was 14 or 15). The short-stories there are incredible hemingway style, but I couldn't realize it, that time. Now it is crystal clear!
My first writings in English are from 1994 or 1995, but they were far too childish. I'm afraid this naive style is still with me, very! You see, Joseph Conrad is one, there are thousands like me! | | |
Probably Noddy on my own.
I have been writing since I was four years old - just notes for my folks etc., but decided it was time to seriously get some of the creative thoughts down, somewhere between Production Management honours and Master of Business degrees. I started longhand with a pencil and foolscap paper, tried a typewriter but soon gave up on that idea and bought a computer. Then I decided to write full time about twelve years ago.
Allowing anyone to read your first works is really baring your soul and many writers hit the wall almost at square one. My daughter was a keen fan and dedicated critic who devoured whatever I had written and at the age of fourteen was writing two novels of her own at the same time.
As a child I remember my father reading us the The Littles. I adored those books. As a tween the first book that is really cemented in my mind is Phantoms. It was the book that would open the door to my reading addiction for many years to come.
I have always had a passion for music. I started out writing words for songs. My writing then progressed into poetry and stories.
My mother was always the first one to read anything that I had written.
My family had the tradition of reading together in the evenings instead of watching T.V. One of the first books I remember from those evenings was Christy by Catherine Marshall. I then explored Zane Grey extensively as a young reader. Those tastes matured from Westerns to Science Fiction/Fantasy with Tolkein; Ann McCaffrey; Patricia McKillip and more.
I began writing my first romance when I was 14 with pen and notebook. I wanted to be the next Zane Grey. I put the dream away for many years and just began seriously writing again three years ago.
The first to read my work was the contest judges for The Unpublished Beacon Contest sponsored by First Coast Romance Writers. Not a pathway I would recommend if I had it to do over again. However, contest responses were awesome and I have blossomed from there.
I can't really remember what I first read, but I started to read a lot in my late teen years. I also began writing little stories in my school years which I handed out to my friends who all seemed to enjoy it. This encouraged me and I kept up the practice of writing incidents from my life along with fictional stories. At times I was nudged by friends to write more...'Hey, come on. What happened to you, we haven't had a story out of you in ages?" And I would get down and write another story - with encouragement like that who wouldn't write?
The Gospels.
I began to write since I believed what I had found was unique and would be of interest to others.
Those interested in religion where the first to read what I had written
Thinking back, I think the very first book I can recall reading, was Romona Quimby by Beverly Cleary. I actually read her entire series, they were some my favourite books growing up.
I began to write when I was around ten years old. I started with short stories and poetry and had pen pals from across the world, I enjoyed writing to weekly. I however, never got really serious about my writing, until the age of 21, when I started writing down story ideas and making rough drafts. Following that I began working on my first book THE CRYSTAL STEP. I think the first people to read my work, were my closest friends and some family. |
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