What made you become a writer? When you were asked, "What do you do for a living?" how many years did it take you to be courageous enough to say, "I am a writer." Do you list "writer" as your occupation?
Why do we do write? My journey became when I was in 7th grade English class. Barbara Beibreich was her name and she was known around Junior High as the "meanest" teacher in the entire school. Standing at a mere 5’2", she was a petite version of the Tasmanian devil. She wasn’t mean. She was brilliant – and she wanted her students to be brilliant.
It was in this class that I discovered my writing ability when Mrs. Beibreich read a descriptive paragraph of my essay to the class. Here I was a shy Catholic school girl learning the ropes of public school, how to open lockers and going to class with boys. When she asked for me to stay after class I was terrified. I believe the kind teacher sensed it and gently but firmly told me, I was an excellent writer.
30 years later, I would be able to tell and show Mrs. Beibreich what that one sentence of encouragement had done for me. From that moment on, I had it in the back of my mind I could become a writer. And that I did.
I wrote really crappy poems, far-fetched short stories, and un-researched articles. BUT I WROTE!
At 19, I got lucky and one of my articles was published in Seventeen Magazine in 1974 (no counting how old I am). I was paid $25. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. A few years later I wrote for the confession magazines – I didn’t tell anyone, but I wracked up the bucks.
By the time I was 30, I had poetry credits, short stories and a few articles published. I started the "Great American Novel" a million times only to toss it in a drawer.
I went years without being published, but I still wrote. I wrote a children’s novel, obtained an agent and had Scholastic in my back pocket with a publishing deal until the editor in charge of the project moved to another publishing house.
In 1997, I started writing a weekly column for a mid-size newspaper. It opened doors. Last year I wrote my first romance novel – it made the rounds of every agent in the business and now sits in a drawer with lots of "thanks but no thanks" rejections.
In 2006, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer and after surgery and chemo, the first thing I did when I was well was start a new romance novel. I am nearly complete.
We writers CANNOT GIVE UP. Even if you’ve never been published does not mean you are not a writer.
We write because we must! It’s in our blood. It’s in our souls, our DNA. We march to our own beat of the drums and take the past least taken. I thank God. I AM A WRITER.
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Comments: 29
It's neat how you sort of started behind the scenes.
REALLY though I write to clear my head, it is therapeutic. I write for me, and not always "grammatically correct." I write different, honest pieces.
I pray your cancer goes into hiding and you can write MANY best sellers!
God Bless! Thanks for this, I needed a little boost today.
though sometimes the lack of readers can discourage there are sometimes that lone person who got what it was all about that fills your heart with besides the itch to write more a feeling of worth
I always maintained that I was a writer. Only recently was I published online and paid for it. It's something that takes time (for me around 14 years off and on writing) but it can happen. Persistence is KEY.
I've got some unfinished novels here.. some more finished than others, and I'm embarking on my second go at NaNoWriMo.
I write for a number of reasons. First and foremost because it gives me pleasure. I write for me. No one else. I write because I have stories inside me waiting to be brought to life. I write, I suppose to live vicariously through some characters, though this is not the main reason but rather a perk of the above reasons.
The first two people who did that probably think I'm absolutly insane...they get personal emails with me almost in tears.
I'm still new to writing. Yes I will add it to my resume shortly. I have a few more rules to learn before I'm comfortable to advertise that fact.
For me though it's fun, it's making my brain work better than it has in a while, and it's inspiring when someone 'gets it'.
Everyone should be wearing a lot of pink this month. Oh how I loath that color, but I've got it on! Prayers and wishes on that note!
Jackie F.
She Drives Me Crazy - Chapter 2
Help my wife become a published author -
please read and rate her Romance entry on Gather!
A Scandalous Overture
Just like you said, "It's in our blood."
I was driven to write. Every time I worked on a story, from childhood to adulthood, I felt changed and happier. It was challenging and sometimes the words would not come but I loved the journey, the process, the sheer thrill of trying to communicate.
Along the way, I was lucky enough to get some hopeful signs. I won a set of encyclopedias in a writing contest as a child. I got an article published in the children's column of a local newspaper. My parents were so proud!
From that point on, I was hooked. My goal is to write a novel and I am truly working on it. Meanwhile, I am compelled to write here on Gather and at other sites. I love being part of a community and reading what others have written too.
Sweetheart, you are a trouper (not sympathy, but empathy). A good pal of mine is a survivor of stage 3 ovarian cancer. She's had a clean bill of health now for 11 years. She's till ornery, hilarious, and healthy.
So, chin up, my good woman.
As far as the writing goes, I've written all sorts of things and since the age of ??? Whenever I could hold a pencil.
Got published articles, poetry, news articles, photographs, short stories, getting an Amazon Short right now, and other stuff. 3/4 finished with a work of southern women's fiction (Ya Ya meets Fried Green Tomatoes) and an inspirational light romance (not my genre at all). Have won writing and photography contests. That kind of stuff.
Nothing of bestseller proportions - YET!
So glad we can all gather together and "talk writing."
XO,
Your words are meaningful and so true. To me, your an inspiration to writers and you have inspired me;) Best of luck to you and you may have that one story that will be a number one seller.
Josephine
btw... Gather Giggles & Groaners is a place to post things that make you giggle, or 'groan'...
Thanks
I write, because I love to write! It is that simply, I have always loved to read and write, and in college I wrote for the college papers, and got all of the great rewards....since then...well I have only written an editorial on request of my college journalism teachers....but nothing else published. I have had so much on my mind since graduating from college as my mother was sick with ALS. Four months have passed since I lost her, and I still feel like my head is too filled up to start writing seriously....so for now I write on Gather!!
Thank you for posting your article to !!!Today's Top Three Photos and Articles!!!@
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I absolutely loved this article asking us writers, why we write.
I write to bless others. I write to vent, sometimes to rejoice, I write to inform others, I write because it is relaxing. I write in my free time, I write when I have no time. I write whether I am paid for what I write or not. I write when I am happy, when I am sad, mad or frustrated. I write about my family, my dogs and my experiences -good, bad or indifferent. I write because I love it and it is definitely a part of me. I can't help but write, I believe I was born with pen in hand.
I, too, have been inspired by others to write, but I write to glorify God, and for myself. Prayerfully, things I write encourage, comfort, bring healing and joy to others lives. I have been blessed with a gift of writing, and finally, at forty-three years of age, am just beginning to start my writing career. It is never too late to begin a new adventure, journey into the unknown or enter new phases of life with a fresh perspective and a renewed sense of expectation.
There are many reasons to write, but most writers know, writing is just the right thing to do.
Be blessed!
www.created2bless.blogspot.com/
For the longest time, writing was my voice. I spoke like a scholar at a very young age(But in my mind only) I couldn't communicate it verbally, only mentally. So I began writing to be heard. It was literally my voice. The words didn't come out straight when I tried it verbally but it made sense on paper.
I was better in English than any other class.
One day I wrote a poem for my teacher(and she WAS mean) and she cried.....That was it. If I can write something to make(Ms. Big and bad,rough and tough) cry. Then I figured it must be something to it. And it comes easy for me too .so I write.
I am a published Poet and have completed the "Longridge Writer's grp(writing fiction) with ten short stories ready for publication. I am using the rejection letters as a excuse to """Try harder and Do Better.
After dealing with some health issues of my own, and the loss of my father, my writing changed. I began publishing personal essays and slice-of-life pieces -- stories that put my inner life in the public eye. I wrote to heal, and to open that possibility for others. That journey continues today ...
I guess you can say that I write for different reasons, but one thing I've found is that it keeps the mind excersised.