My First Writing Memory
A question I get asked a lot is how long have you known you wanted to be a writer. I can definitively say, since the 2nd grade when I was in Mrs. Pierce’s class. Sitting in alphabetical order between Don Stevens and Michele Yuresko.
How do I remember that you ask when I can barely remember what I did a few hours ago? I have no idea, I just do.
Now I’m not exactly sure what defining moment made me realize in 2nd grade that I wanted to be a writer, I just remember I did.
A friend and I would spend our time making up stories and writing them down. I was an avid reader, even at that time, reading far above my age level. I was an only child so reading and making things up was my favorite pastime since I didn’t have siblings to play with.
At the time, I was really into The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. This series spanned 20 books ranging from the first in 1941 to the 20th in 1983.
On a side note, my mother had also been a fan as a little girl, and it was an awesome thing to share.
Plus my family had horses so you can imagine as a little girl I was all about the horses (and still am). I was also a huge Trixie Belden mystery series fan, started by Julie Campbell Tatum (later finished under publishing house name Kathryn Kenny) and spanning 39 books and 38 years, which fueled my love of mystery books.
On another side note, my mother read these, and now my 9-year-old daughter is. How freakin cool is that?
In grade school, these were the types of books I tried to emulate. When Francis Ford Coppola produced the movie The Black Stallion in 1979 I made my parents take me to see it several times and then tried to write Ford a letter with my story ideas that I thought would make awesome movies. Needless to say I never got a response but I haven’t stopped writing and it’s just as fun now as it was 35 years ago (oh God has it really been that long since 2nd grade).
I’m lucky in the sense that I earn a living making things up. BEST. JOB. EVER!
What do you remember from grade school?
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