Since I can't remember much of my life before I was four, I consider when I learned to read at four to be the real beginning of my thinking. Mom taught me to read because it was a fun thing for us to do together, and I'd read her newspaper articles while she made dinner. Our house was filled with books. There were 3 shelves in the living room that ran the length of the wall they were on, and they held things like Encyclopedia Brittanica, the Oxford English Dictionary (multiple volumes), and a hard-cover bound series of "Classics of Literature", which included a volume each of many writers including Shakespeare. One of the first books I remember reading in paperback was Edith Hamilton's "Mythology", which began my love affair with the ancient Greeks and their stories. Heroism, romance, spiteful gods, etc. What's not to like?
I read constantly, whenever I wasn't doing homework. Sometimes I'd turn down the chance to play with friends because I was so engrossed in my books. The longest book I ever read in one day was "The Godfather", when I was about 12. My parents discussed whether or not they should let me read it, then decided that since they'd never censured my reading before, there was no need to begin. I started reading it over my breakfast, took it into the bathroom with me, ate lunch and dinner with my nose buried in it, and sat up reading with a flashlight into the wee hours of the morning. I finished it about 3am. Phew! That was the beginning of my love for lurid prose and exciting fictional stories...especially those with naughty bits!
I don't remember when I discovered sci-fi, but once I did, I devoured books by the series. My love for sci-fi began with the realization that the best of the genre is grounded in today's facts, but extrapolates enough to imagine what the future will be like if things continue as they are today. It opened my mind to new ways of thinking. Somewhere along the way, I began to imagine myself as a character in my favorite books, or in my favorite movies and TV shows. That was the beginning of "the voices" who entertain me in my mind, showing me their life stories. I thought everyone walked around with scenes playing out in their minds, that it was universal. Now it's called "fan fiction", when it's written.
Getting an English degree seemed like the most sensible course for someone so enamored of the written word that I sometimes preferred reading to interacting with others. Read a novel a week, and write a 25-page paper on it, typing it up on my manual typewriter? No problem! Having multiple classes that each had the same requirement? Still no problem.
Now that I'm a published author, though still laboring in obscurity, I attribute my ability to type as quickly as I think to my many hours spent typing papers with a bottle of White-out next to me. And I value the stories that my mind continues to present to me. After being publisher for 4 years by 3 publishers, with my 14th and 15th books due out before the end of the year, I've begun to think of myself as a real author. And the connection that implies between me and those who came before me, who held me enthralled as I read their words, gives me a real sense of pride and accomplishment.
I'd love to be writing about beginning a new career as an author who can afford to write full-time. But some of my favorites never achieved much fame or money from their words. I continue to enjoy the stories my mind gives me--and I hope my readers do too.
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This was my essay on the topic of beginnings. If you'd like to see what other authors have to say about the same topic, please check the list below and click on their websites:
1. Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca
2. Jinny Baxter jinnykb@wordpress.com.
3. Beverly Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
4. Kay Sisk http://kaysisk.blogspot.com
5. Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com
6. Ginger Simpson http://mizging.blogspot.com
7. Lynn Crain www.awriterinvienna.blogspot.com
8. Connie Vine http://connievines.blogspot.com/
9. Rhobin Lee Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
I read constantly, whenever I wasn't doing homework. Sometimes I'd turn down the chance to play with friends because I was so engrossed in my books. The longest book I ever read in one day was "The Godfather", when I was about 12. My parents discussed whether or not they should let me read it, then decided that since they'd never censured my reading before, there was no need to begin. I started reading it over my breakfast, took it into the bathroom with me, ate lunch and dinner with my nose buried in it, and sat up reading with a flashlight into the wee hours of the morning. I finished it about 3am. Phew! That was the beginning of my love for lurid prose and exciting fictional stories...especially those with naughty bits!
I don't remember when I discovered sci-fi, but once I did, I devoured books by the series. My love for sci-fi began with the realization that the best of the genre is grounded in today's facts, but extrapolates enough to imagine what the future will be like if things continue as they are today. It opened my mind to new ways of thinking. Somewhere along the way, I began to imagine myself as a character in my favorite books, or in my favorite movies and TV shows. That was the beginning of "the voices" who entertain me in my mind, showing me their life stories. I thought everyone walked around with scenes playing out in their minds, that it was universal. Now it's called "fan fiction", when it's written.
Getting an English degree seemed like the most sensible course for someone so enamored of the written word that I sometimes preferred reading to interacting with others. Read a novel a week, and write a 25-page paper on it, typing it up on my manual typewriter? No problem! Having multiple classes that each had the same requirement? Still no problem.
Now that I'm a published author, though still laboring in obscurity, I attribute my ability to type as quickly as I think to my many hours spent typing papers with a bottle of White-out next to me. And I value the stories that my mind continues to present to me. After being publisher for 4 years by 3 publishers, with my 14th and 15th books due out before the end of the year, I've begun to think of myself as a real author. And the connection that implies between me and those who came before me, who held me enthralled as I read their words, gives me a real sense of pride and accomplishment.
I'd love to be writing about beginning a new career as an author who can afford to write full-time. But some of my favorites never achieved much fame or money from their words. I continue to enjoy the stories my mind gives me--and I hope my readers do too.
************************
This was my essay on the topic of beginnings. If you'd like to see what other authors have to say about the same topic, please check the list below and click on their websites:
1. Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca
2. Jinny Baxter jinnykb@wordpress.com.
3. Beverly Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
4. Kay Sisk http://kaysisk.blogspot.com
5. Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com
6. Ginger Simpson http://mizging.blogspot.com
7. Lynn Crain www.awriterinvienna.blogspot.com
8. Connie Vine http://connievines.blogspot.com/
9. Rhobin Lee Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
