When did you first think about becoming a writer?

[Amy]

Hi guys,

Okay, my first question... when did you realize you wanted to be a writer, or was it something you have always known?

[Emma]

I've always loved making up stories – I used to write books about a mouse called Perry and illustrate them and staple them together! (And I still have them!)

I always planned on being an artist or an musician, though. Then, when I was 13, I saw the film Jurassic Park. I couldn't get it out of my head and decided to write a sequel. I guess nowadays, you'd call it fanfic. A few days later, I suddenly thought 'I'm going to be a novelist'. That sounds SO cheesy, but that really is how it happened - like a light going on inside my head. And ever since then, I've known that was what I wanted to do.

How about you guys??

[Karen]

I was always making up stories as a child, too. My brother and I would write horror plays and then act them out (badly) for our parents. When I hit 12, I told my teacher at school that I wanted to write books for a living - nothing else would do!

[Amy]

I actually HATED writing when I was a kid.

I have a distinct memory of being 9 years old, in the back of the car, screaming and crying at my mum (what a pleasant child I was!) because we'd been given a homework assignment to write a creative story. Oops!

I guess I started writing properly when I was in high school when - quite frankly - I found it easier to write stories than to fit in. I wrote my first 'novel' when I was 15... although I have to say, I thought I'd never get published (I thought all authors were old, actually!). It wasn't until I heard about Christopher Paolini that I realized this might actually be something I could do for a living, before I reached retirement age!

[Emma]

Amy, that made me giggle! And Kaz, I mis-read your post at first… I thought it said you hit your teacher when you were 12 and told them you wanted to write books for a living! :O

[Amy]

I used to hate reading, too! Man, I was a weird child.

But what solved that for me was Nancy Drew. My parents persisted in reading me Nancy Drew every night, and those cliffhanger endings on every chapter... they were a killer! Eventually I decided I couldn't wait for another night to find out what happened to Nancy, and before I knew it, I was a bonafide reader. Never looked back!

[Karen]

I am really laughing at this thread! :)