Thoughts About Writing

Just a sort of processing post...

1. I REALLY want to take the English FDS with Mr. Wenger. I'm trying to come up with a plan in case I can't do a regular FDS...as in, I'll sign up for a regular English class from Dr. Wenger and turn in my own assignments. I just need something to push me to finish "Violet's Monster" because I won't do it by myself.

2. I'm learning more about myself, as a reader/writer. I love childrens' fiction. It is by far my favorite genre and most often what I am reading. Romance, Non-fiction, Christian, Information, etc., never held any interest for me. I do read Classics, Westerns, Mysteries, Sci-fi/Fantasy, but most often I read books meant for people well below my age. There is something fascinating about those worlds I've explored. One of the things I have learned about myself is that I truly love reading. I mean, I knew I liked reading, but not being able to read for pleasure until recently has made me aware that I would MUCH rather spend time reading than anything else.

3. I've also discovered that I could possibly enjoy a career as a writer. It's far enough away from Corporate America that I could keep my own hours, work a part-time job, pursue hobbies, and still make a little money. :P I do like the idea of writing. I've been writing since 6th grade. I've written poetry, short stories, beginnings of novels [yes, I have yet to finish a novel], and I've got several ideas written down all over notebooks, cards, envelopes, napkins, and bulletins that show I definitely have enough material to be a writer. I just need to figure out how I, as a writer, work. How many words can I write in a day without burning out? Am I the kind that re-writes and re-writes and re-writes, or am I the kind that edits along the way and have few revisions to make at the end? [I know of 2 authors who are like the examples I've given]

4. I have been wondering what my author voice/style is. You could give me a book without the author's name and, granted that I'd read them before, I could probably hazard a good guess as to who it was based on the author voice. No one else besides Natalie Babbitt would write this line: "Nevertheless, the people who lived there were extremely proud of the mountains, for they were the only point of interest in a countryside that neither rolled nor dipped but lay as flat as if it had been knocked unconscious." [Kneeknock Rise] I'm interested to see who I am as a writer. It will be an interesting journey to discovery.

5. The more I think about it, the more excited I am about writing. Mr. Wenger was VERY excited and it always helps to have someone that you know and trust who is excited about what you are doing. That's the way Dr. Dan always was about whatever I wanted to do and it boosted my self-esteem and confidence much more than any other childhood authority figure ever did.

6. One of the reasons I want to write is because there aren't a lot of stories available to me that I want to read [I STILL don't have a library card. SIGH.] - so I'll write stories like what I want to read.

7. The other reason is that I love making up stories. In my head, on paper, on screen, on stage...I am in love with story-telling. The art of it is so...beautiful.