I dreamed of being a writer. It got to where story ideas swam around in my head almost all the time. It was really frustrating because truth was, I didn’t know the mechanics of writing fiction.
An artist friend of mine, Ramona, recommended a book to me that she thought might help: The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. I checked it out at the library. What I like best about it is that insightful quotes are interspersed throughout, such as: “Undoubtedly, we become what we envisage. – Claude M. Bristol.” I believe anyone can benefit from reading the book, since we all have some sort of creative talent that brings us joy -- if and when we use it. The Artist’s Way is like primer for human creativity pumps.
I still didn’t write beyond personal journal entries, though, because the primer I needed was a “how to” device. What I did was check out every book I could find about writing from the awesome Harris County Freeman library. There were hundreds, and I read many of them over the course of three years. I figured that at some point, things would start sinking in.
Inspiration really came alive when I read Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. Her bold honesty and her style struck a chord with me. I started believing that one day, the reservoir of words would begin to burst forth through my pen like water from the Old Faithful geyser. But I didn’t start writing quite yet.
It was only after my youngest child, Maddie, graduated from high school that the rumbling began. I had been long divorced at that point; I realized that, when I wasn’t at my day job, I was free to give myself to the next thing: a writer’s life.
That’s when I woke up -- as if I had been in a coma -- and began living the dream. I sit down regularly at my writing table, and the words flow onto paper.
I am a writer -- a ready writer on a journey to become a great one.
(published November 2005)
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