From the first week of fourth grade I can say definitively that I have been writing. My fourth grade English teacher had a weekly assignment due every Monday for a one page story. My young heart leapt and my writing began as most little girl’s does with rainbows and butterflies and everything that makes us happy. I am unashamedly a girlie girl.
My writing has been my own since then, I had also the inherited a gift for singing, being in a musical family and performing on stages since the age of six. That was the gift I shared, but my writing was for me.
Lately the shift has changed. I read a book from a friend who is published and lives in my hometown. I remember visiting her home when I was young when my family went for a visit, her children where my age. She was always friendly and smart. Her book was intuitive, real and well told. I enjoyed the read so much and I am ashamed to admit I was shocked.
How can someone from my hometown be such a good writer? It must be a well rehearsed small town insecurity that talent is only born in big cities. My mind began to shift and after a meeting or two with my new inspirational friend I was encouraged to finish what I had started more than a decade before.
It’s hard to remember when I began as “the Oregon trail” book for it was in my head long before I ever wrote anything.
More than a decade ago the research and writing began. I have always loved history. My secret longing to time travel gets to come out and play for when I write it feels like I am there.
My book sat with several chapters done, piles, and piles of historical research had been gathered for more than a decade. I know it sounds a bit like a mental illness but this whole time the characters have been in my head, growing and learning with me on my life’s pathway.
I cannot thank my friend sufficiently for being brave enough to share her book with the world and helping me be brave enough to share mine. In the last year I have finally finished my first novel. SEEING THE ELEPHANT
Weekly visits and nearly daily emails have been shared with encouragement and sharing word counts at the end of the day (or wee hours of the morning.)
The story to me means so much because it is the struggle to find her strength in a male dominated world. I can understand and relate to my characters as they trudge through the untamed land.
With the application of my new writing disciplines the next stories are coming and all the research has paid off well. I can’t wait to share my stories with the world.
