Little Bit o Writing Monday!

Here's my first homework assignment! Woo! We had to write about our experiences in writing.

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” Ray Bradbury. When I was little, the other kids could barely keep up with the intricate stories going through my head. That’s why they never played Barbie’s with me. And that was ok.

In 1st grade I remember the first day, I was scolded for starting all my sentences with and. Apparently only published authors were allowed to do that. When I was nine, my grandma told me there were no good books coming out lately. That night I went and wrote a love story for her about two antelopes that fell in love over the rainbow. Not trying to brag or anything, but it was a pretty rousing drama full of politically correct antelope mating calls.

I told my third grade teacher that I wanted to be an author when I grew up. She encouraged me to enter a writing contest. With high expectations, I entered my little antelope story and it’s sequels. Waited. Waited. Waited some more. No answer. Six long months later, a letter in the mail arrived with my name on it, saying that my piece had been accepted into the anthology of short stories. I won’t even bother trying to describe my excitement that day. It would take too long.

But ever since that day, I continued writing, determined to be an author. Every time I finished something that I thought was the best piece of work that could ever be written, I’d email it to all my friends and wait for their replies. Wait for them to tell me how brilliant I was. Those replies came. It took me a little bit to realize that they weren’t even reading what I was sending them. I was crushed to say the least. My dream seemed so far away.

Just recently, I realized that it isn’t about what others think, at least not all the time. I write for me. Me. I put those characters and their unique stories down. It doesn’t matter that a book with almost the same plot was published a month ago. Because they’re my stories, and they need to be told.

I love creative writing. Not so much of a fan of research and critical writing. It’s kind of my weak point. Writing is how I communicate though. The words may not always be in my mouth, but as soon as my fingers hit the keys, I can uncover them.

So basically I suck at seminars.