I'd like to take some time here and chat about WHY I write and how I came about being brave enough to call myself a writer.
I've been writing my whole life. I remember writing stories as a young kid. I had Barbies, but rather than play with them, I would dress them up, and then write stories about them. I was also in love with dinosaurs. A lot of my stories revolved around a paleontologist type character (who just so happened to resemble me...a lot) who somehow brought dinosaurs back to life and was friends with them.
Later, I wrote angsty teen fiction and poetry, which isn't unusual for most teens, and was often a reflection of the types of things I was feeling inside. Writing was therapy.
Writing was a hobby. Writing wasn't a job.
I wanted to be a paleontologist, a counselor, a teacher, a librarian. I never wanted be a writer. Being a writer wasn't a real job. But it was always something I did. I took creative writing classes alongside all of my college courses. It was something I always had to schedule in, and always knew would be a part of my life. In community college I took just as many writing classes as I did English classes. When I transferred to a University, I minored in Creative Writing while I took "real" classes.
Initially, I wanted to be an English Teacher. That changed though during a trip to the University library. After chatting with a librarian, I realized that that was what I wanted my day job to me. I wanted the opportunity to continue learning, to promote literacy, and have a job that would fuel my "hobby." So I did some research and found that in order to be a librarian, you needed a MLS (Masters of Library Science) but you could get your BA in any subject.
So I changed my major to Creative Writing.
I still didn't think of it as more than a hobby though. I thought "well, cool, I can take some writing classes to get my BA and then go to grad school to learn how to do my "real" job."
But as I took more classes, wrote more things, went to more student readings, I thought, "Wait, I'm pretty good at this."
Since I got my BA I've published 5 short stories, 2 small collections of poems, and even self-published a children's book!
I still went to Graduate school though, and am currently a month or so away from my MLS, and I still plan on being a librarian. Right now, writing doesn't pay my bills, and I really really do love the thought of being a YA (Young Adult) librarian.
The great thing about my grad program is that while it has been training me to be a good librarian, it has also shaped me into the writer I am now. I've decided the genre and age group I want to write for (YA Horror, and I'll save the reason for that for another post), and have started writing my first YA horror novel. I'm still going to write short stories though, there is something about them that I just love, and I really enjoy getting published alongside other writers.
Also post-college, grad school days, I found Faith. And, as you do when you are someone of faith, you think about what your purpose is. What has God sent you here to do?
And I really honestly think that God sent me here to write. It has been the only constant in my life, and it has been the only thing that I feel COMPELLED to do. I still plan on being a librarian. I think I can help change lives that way, but I really feel more passionately about writing.
When I'm on my lunch break at work: I think about writing.
When I'm stressed with school: I think about writing.
Anytime I have ANY free time: I'm writing.
All I want to do is write.
As I near graduation and finally obtaining my Masters Degree, I can't help but to think "Yay! Now I'll have more time to write!"
I'm working on my first YA Horror novel now. And soon, I will start my second YA project which will be a blook (book in blog form) on wattpad, which I will link to here when that starts.
I'm very excited to pursue writing more and more. I'm excited to start my future as a librarian and writer. I want to share literature any way I can with teens of all kinds.
Life is good.
I've been writing my whole life. I remember writing stories as a young kid. I had Barbies, but rather than play with them, I would dress them up, and then write stories about them. I was also in love with dinosaurs. A lot of my stories revolved around a paleontologist type character (who just so happened to resemble me...a lot) who somehow brought dinosaurs back to life and was friends with them.
Later, I wrote angsty teen fiction and poetry, which isn't unusual for most teens, and was often a reflection of the types of things I was feeling inside. Writing was therapy.
Writing was a hobby. Writing wasn't a job.
I wanted to be a paleontologist, a counselor, a teacher, a librarian. I never wanted be a writer. Being a writer wasn't a real job. But it was always something I did. I took creative writing classes alongside all of my college courses. It was something I always had to schedule in, and always knew would be a part of my life. In community college I took just as many writing classes as I did English classes. When I transferred to a University, I minored in Creative Writing while I took "real" classes.
Initially, I wanted to be an English Teacher. That changed though during a trip to the University library. After chatting with a librarian, I realized that that was what I wanted my day job to me. I wanted the opportunity to continue learning, to promote literacy, and have a job that would fuel my "hobby." So I did some research and found that in order to be a librarian, you needed a MLS (Masters of Library Science) but you could get your BA in any subject.
So I changed my major to Creative Writing.
I still didn't think of it as more than a hobby though. I thought "well, cool, I can take some writing classes to get my BA and then go to grad school to learn how to do my "real" job."
But as I took more classes, wrote more things, went to more student readings, I thought, "Wait, I'm pretty good at this."
Since I got my BA I've published 5 short stories, 2 small collections of poems, and even self-published a children's book!
I still went to Graduate school though, and am currently a month or so away from my MLS, and I still plan on being a librarian. Right now, writing doesn't pay my bills, and I really really do love the thought of being a YA (Young Adult) librarian.
The great thing about my grad program is that while it has been training me to be a good librarian, it has also shaped me into the writer I am now. I've decided the genre and age group I want to write for (YA Horror, and I'll save the reason for that for another post), and have started writing my first YA horror novel. I'm still going to write short stories though, there is something about them that I just love, and I really enjoy getting published alongside other writers.
Also post-college, grad school days, I found Faith. And, as you do when you are someone of faith, you think about what your purpose is. What has God sent you here to do?
And I really honestly think that God sent me here to write. It has been the only constant in my life, and it has been the only thing that I feel COMPELLED to do. I still plan on being a librarian. I think I can help change lives that way, but I really feel more passionately about writing.
When I'm on my lunch break at work: I think about writing.
When I'm stressed with school: I think about writing.
Anytime I have ANY free time: I'm writing.
All I want to do is write.
As I near graduation and finally obtaining my Masters Degree, I can't help but to think "Yay! Now I'll have more time to write!"
I'm working on my first YA Horror novel now. And soon, I will start my second YA project which will be a blook (book in blog form) on wattpad, which I will link to here when that starts.
I'm very excited to pursue writing more and more. I'm excited to start my future as a librarian and writer. I want to share literature any way I can with teens of all kinds.
Life is good.
Comments
Post a Comment