For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a writer. I’m not sure at exactly what age or which moment I knew for sure, but throughout my life, there have been some “defining moments” that I’ve pinpointed that remind me that from an early age, writing has always been my dream.
A little trip down memory lane…
Seven years old: In first grade, every day for one glorious hour, we would spend time writing in journals. Remember those tiny manila composition books? Unbeknownst to my classmates, we were in a serious competition to see who could fill up the most pages in one sitting. Instead of utilizing my notebook as an actual free flowing journal, at the top of each page, I picked a topic (real examples: Bacon, My Mom’s New Baby, The Beach, Books) and spent the page discussing that topic (I’m pretty sure the “bacon” entry discussed how delicious I thought bacon was). I wrote in huge, loopy letters that took up two lines each. Needless to say, I went through several notebooks throughout the course of first grade. I’m also not sure I understood the point of journal time, although I would say it definitely attributed to my eventual love of writing.
Nine years old: Oh man, in third grade, we got to write our own creative stories! We would write VERY neatly, then create our own cover. Ms. Matlack, my teacher, would laminate the covers and place our book on the shelf, along with all of the other books in our classroom’s library. Oh yes, my tiny third grade heart fluttered because at the ripe age of nine, I was a PUBLISHED author.
12 years old- 15 years old: Throughout these formative years, I kept a diary, almost every day, without fail. Each night, I would furiously scribble in my diary (usually a black and white Mead composition book plastered with cut outs from magazines of hot guys or random words like ‘friends’ ‘fun’ ‘party’ ‘love’). Usually, I would lament about my latest crush, my stupid science test, an annoying friend…or whatever else ailed my teenage days. I would draw hearts around boys names and melodramatically write out song lyrics that I identified with. T
16 years old- 18 years old: Then came the Internet and blogging. My diary moved from a private and physical book to one that the entire world could read… Xanga, Blurty, Livejournal, Blogger…I had them all at some point or another. These blogs hold the whole sordid tale of high school (I should REALLY attempt to hack my way back into this account…could be great inspiration for a WIP).
And now? Here I am. Twenty-two years old, blogging my way through the books I love and the novel I’m writing. And as I continue writing, you’ll all be the first to know about the progress I’m making. Thanks for being here.
Tell me about your writing history. Any funny memories of when you were younger? And if you’re not a writer, how about reading history and memories?
writing history! oh boy.
we used to have a program in our elementary and middle schools through the state of illinois called the young authors program. each year, we’d have to write a story and then it was put against others in the grade and then on a district level to win awards. i loved it. it really got me into writing.
it was probably third or forth grade when i really made it a habit, and by the time i was in middle school, it was obsessive. high school? completely obsessive.
then i went to college and wrote my entire degree around writing.
and then i stopped. just…stopped.
but ive gotten back into it now that i’m done with school and more “settled” in life. and not only that but the writing itself has changed so much, and what i know about myself as a writer is so different than what i knew even when i was working on my formal education.
great post. good luck – it’s such a fun and horrifying thing. i love reading about other people’s writing histories, probably because my entire life has had writing in it. i still haunt my high school livejournal. it’s a goldmine!
@kelly, Thanks for sharing, Kelly! This was fabulous.
Do you still have those stories you wrote for the contest? That would be so cool.
I know what you mean about just stopping because it’s definitely what I’ve done and I really need to get back into it!
Ooh, I love this post! Hmm, now my writing history. I love writing; it’s been part of my life since I first wrote my own little “book” in elementary school. (It was about a girl who was sad when she found out she had to move away from her friends but then turned out loving the new school even more than her old one; original, right?) And as of lately, I’ve been attempting to write a full length story every once a while for the past year or two now. I’ll think of a great idea and then I’m off with it, and then I get stuck and let it go, and the process then repeats itself over and over again. My big plan for this summer is to come up with an idea (or use an old one of mine) and let it run its full course to the very end. Hopefully it’ll happen. Until then I think I’ll keep writing in my journal, because maybe my thoughts and actions will come in handy later on in life for different things I write. Plus it’ll be good for when I want to go down memory lane later on in life. Anyhow, good luck with your own writing! 🙂
@Lauren, Lauren! Thank you so much for this thoughtful comment. How fab that you wrote that cute story when you were little. I wish I still remembered what mine were about!
And good for you for journaling…I’ve kind of given that up. I have no doubt that you can write a full length story!
I’ve gone back an reread my old livejournals, and it’s kind of scary now! I can’t believe some of the things I would post, and some of the stupid decisions I’ve made. I want back and read them planning to save copies on my computer or print them out so they’d be handy. But after skimming through parts, it really isn’t something I’d want anyone else to find now!
@Shoshanah, Oh man, yes my LJ is full of little gems like that! I definitely wouldn’t want anyone to read it, but it’s fun to look back on.
With the change in the publishing industry, I took a leap of faith and decided to go down the indie path. Last year I published my second novel in the Amazon store and I’m finishing up on the sequel. I’ve learned a lot, met some great people who have helped me along the way, but I made a decision to never give up and keep moving onward! I hope you pick back your novel idea, finish the book and then write the next one and then the next and so on. The more I write, the better my work becomes. Good luck!