I have a theory that the love affair with writing usually starts very early in life.
For instance, I have been writing books, poems, short stories, song lyrics, plays, magazines, and newspapers for as long as I can remember. (As a side note, as a child, I tried to "sell" subscriptions to the last two items to my mother who willingly purchased them though the quality was rather, shall we say, lacking.) I'm not saying any of my creations were or are great works of literary art, mind you, but they rarely make readers regurgitate, so I consider that a positive sign.
However, my own experience does not make my hypothesis accurate.
Consequently, I'd like to ask visitors to this site who are recreational or professional writers the following question:
"At what age did you begin to write for pleasure?"
Please share your info and we'll see if my theory holds water or sinks like a cement block tied fast to a snitch's ankle.
(Incidentally, if you don't have a blogger account, you can still post! Just sign in as Anonymous and leave your name--if you want to, that is--at the end of your comment.)
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8 comments:
I can remember writing a poem in Mrs. Lynch's sixth-grade class that won me accolades....because she thought my talent was due to the fact that, unlike Louis Peace, I didn't doze off in class and had gone to bed at a decent hour. So much for my grand entrance into writing!
Like you, I was selling my mother (and our neighbor) home-grown newspapers before that. It was exciting stuff - the cats, dogs, cows and pigs were wellsprings of news! I remember frustration at an early age. My parents, not knowing or understanding their child was a budding writer, rarely had any extra paper lying around the house. So my career was stymied for lack of notebook paper. :))
I think I more started writing for release than pleasure per say. Kid and teen angst you know. I'm trying to think if I've ever written just for plain old pleasure. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that. I've written because I'm not bad at it and people tell me to or rather, give me opportunities to. I write because it's a great way to be at home with my son and make a living. But I might be one of those writers who doesn't do it for actual pleasure. If I think of when I did I'll be back.
Lori--Ouch! That teacher doesn't exactly win the prize for supporting the arts. Oh, well! At least it didn't diminish your interest. :)
Jennifer--Fascinating! I just assumed that all writers must enjoy writing or they wouldn't do it. You have definitely opened my eyes this morning!
I started around 8 or 9 with writing little stories. Around 15, though, I started formal short stories and a novella. A novel followed a year or two later. I rewrote that dang thing like 1000 times.
Yes, I do think the urge to create stories starts young.
Well,I do enjoy it for various reasons but I think that's different than pleasure. Pleasure is like a really good long road trip or coffee or a great book or fun with a partner or child. I enjoy what I do; but I would not say that I ever think to myself, "Hey I've got some free time, maybe I'll go write Woohoo!" -- of course what exactly am I doing here; writing. Geez.
Jason--I'm impressed! What was your novel about?
Jennifer--You gave me a much-needed chuckle this morning!
Angelique, maybe I can dig my query blurb out.
It was a great learning process over the years. I really had to mess up many times before I started to get the hang of novel length fiction. My current WIP will prove that either I learned something...or I still have some major hills to climb.
Jason:
I have no doubt that you're learning all the time. You seem to be someone who craves knowledge. Love to see the query!
Angelique
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