My mom called recently and said she found a book I'd written in 1st grade. I don't remember that one. But I did remember another one. So I dug through my files last night and found this:
I wrote this in 5th grade when I was 10 years old for the Young Author's Book Fair :D I read it to my son as a bedtime story and he thought it was pretty cool - which made me feel kinda proud :D I wrote a sequel to it the next year, which flopped and burned (and after reading the both of them, I could see why lol I think I'd written it quickly because the deadline was almost up and turned in a first draft. The first book was MUCH better).
Here are the opening paragraphs:
My heart started pounding as the waves crashed against the side of the boat. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I felt cold sea water rush over my sneakers. I picked up a bucket and started bailing water out of the canoe. I looked back and saw the soldier's canoe coming up behind me. I wondered why soldiers would be chasing me, a 15 year old boy. I hadn't committed a crime, I had just run away from the island orphanage.
Suddenly a huge ice beast rose up in front of me. The soldiers were still in back of me. I tried to stop the boat but the oars broke. I crashed into the beast!
~~~
Hehe ahhh that brings back memories :D Interesting to see that I was writing a MG/YA (there was a bit of romance) with a male main character :D I still do the YA and romance - haven't done a male MC in a while though.
Did you always want to be a writer? When did you know?
I never 'wanted' to be a writer, because in my young mind I already 'was' a writer by virtue of the fact that I wrote stories almost every day from the time I could read. I lost the plot in high school and entertained ideas of a being a a professional flute player. Now I'm back to being a writer :)
ReplyDeleteyeah, I don't remember trying to write much in high school (aside from really bad poetry) :) I do remember thinking that writing as a career was a pipe dream - glad I was wrong :)
DeleteThat's great, Michelle. I had found my 'original' sixth grade story and posted chunks on my blog back in February for the Origins blogfest: http://doubtingwriter.blogspot.com/2012/02/origins.html
ReplyDeleteShortened version: In sixth grade, being a writer was IT for me, that was what I wanted to do. Somewhere in seventh grade, that disappeared. But writing was one of those things that was always in the back of my head until 2-3 years ago, when it came back with a vengeance. Thanks for sharing!
I lost it here and there over the years as well - but you can't keep it gone forever can you? :) Going to go check out your post!
DeleteMichelle, you just brought tears to my eyes seeing that lovely story you wrote in 5th grade!
ReplyDeleteSo great that you kept it. Funny how our young experiences stick. Mine was Mr. Perlmutter in high school. He pulled me aside one day after English and told me I had something special and best I not waste it. I scoffed at him. Actually scoffed. Maybe I just wasn't ready to believe him! He really was something though and that moment is forever inside me, and if one day I succeed in this game of publishing, it'll be his name that'll be the first I'd thank. Teachers - the right kind of teacher - they sure do have an indelible power don't you think?
they really do. My first writing professor in college stopped my parents in the parking lot after graduation to tell them what a good writer I was. I still remember that as one of the best moments of my life :) And something I think back on whenever I feel discouraged :)
DeleteWow,you wrote that at ten? Your talent was already blossoming. I wrote also at ten, but poetry a la Poe.
ReplyDeleteI have an old poetry diary from way back when. Some of them aren't too bad. Others...lol let's just call them "interesting" ;-)
DeleteIt took me a long, long time to figure out that maybe all these stories I was writing meant I should be a writer.
ReplyDeleteLove the Accident on an Iceberg story...
I always wanted to be an author, but for a long time I didn't think it was something I could really do. I'm glad I didn't listen to myself :)
DeleteMy daughter actually started writing before I did! Well, of course, I've always written things, but she started writing a "book" before I did. I have her story she wrote in third grade about a superhero cat named the Mighty T who saves the world from disaster. She still writes, but now I do, too.
ReplyDeleteI only started writing because I thought it might be a way to purge a recurring nightmare from my head. It worked, and I became addicted to writing and couldn't stop, even after I got that first story down on paper.
writing is great for that! And that is awesome about your daughter :D Mine just wrote a story the other day. I need to make a copy of it and file it somewhere - it's so fun to see that stuff later in life :D
DeleteI didn't know until I'd had to drop out of college due to finances, saw the movie Stand By Me, and realized that's what I wanted to do with my life. Then family and life came along and stalled the dream for years. Now I'm picking back up and wishing I hadn't wasted so much time, but then, we all find ourselves in our own way.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I started writing my first novel when my son was about a year old and then just stopped for several years before picking it up again.
DeleteI remember writing as a kid; I did a book (which was really a short story) in both 4th and 5th grade. Two of my poems were also published. I think if we look back, we've always wanted to be writers :) I never realized that until just recently.
ReplyDeleteIs it bad that I think your ten year old writing is a lot better than some of the non-polished drafts I've done? :)
LOL only if it's bad that I think it's better than some of my own current non-polished drafts :D
DeleteAnd I was the same way, I think. I always wanted to be a writer but it felt the same as wanting to be a princess. Like it would be awesome but wasn't ever going to happen. Took me 20 more years after writing this before I decided I really COULD be a writer "for reals" :)