Origins Blogfest...

Since I missed out on IWSG, I decided to join this one at the last minute!

Origins Blogfest is where we tell about how we got started in writing. You can see the list here.

Everyone has a unique story, a moment when they said, "Hey! I'm gonna be a writer!"

I just started writing stories when I was in high school. The first thing I wrote creatively was a journal entry for my English Lit class. The topic was "Describe a Forest Fire". So I did, from the perspective of the animals. I think this was when I was a Junior and up until that point, I wasn't impressing anyone with my mad English skills.

I failed English in high school every year. No joke.

I just didn't apply myself, plus lots of other reasons. There are times when I wish I could do high school over, without all the drama and teenage angst.

But I digress...

After the reaction I got from the teacher after that first burst of inspiration, it gave me a little boost. But I didn't write anything until my last Senior year (yes, I was on the 6 year plan...) when we were asked to write a Fable. We were all given the moral and had to write the story based upon that. Right about that time is when I was reading more fantasy and playing Dungeons and Dragons.

My fable knocked my teachers socks off and she actually approached me after class and said I had potential.

I did?

I was a struggling teenager. At that moment in time, I was working to help pay the bills and my mom had just gotten out of the hospital and was back on her feet work wise. I dropped out for a semester of school to work full time and decided I wanted my diploma, not my GED. How was I going to even go about writing stories? I wasn't even sure if I was going to go to college.

But the one thing my teacher told me was to just give it a shot and see what happened. I think that was the moment I let the floodgates of my imagination fly open. This woman had more faith in me and my skills and saw a talent. I don't think I would have ever pursued writing if it hadn't been for her. She knew I understood English and grammar, she could see it in my writing even if it didn't reflect in my grades.

From that moment, I began to write stories for my D & D character. Yep, Kayta. I jotted down little stories here and there and things progressed. By the time I was 22, I had a whole story. Horrible as hell, but a story nonetheless. But then it got put on hold until things in my life returned to a semblance of normal.

Two kids and two bad marriages dampens the writing spirit of some people (not my kids, the marriages) and I didn't pick up writing seriously again until I met Larry. He is the reason for my success. He's my support. I wrote short stories for my characters while playing Legends of Cosrin and had lots of people tell me I should write for a living, but I just blew it off. However, every time someone commented like that about a post, it gave me a thrill. I gobbled up those comments like a starving animal. Because I WAS emotionally starving. I was getting attention.

But that isn't what made me want to pursue writing as a career. I have a story to tell and I want it to be told. Now, I'm getting that opportunity and I have worked hard to polish my craft and hone my skills as a writer. I labor over every sentence and feel I have come a very long way from that first story I wrote way back when, describing the forest fire from the viewpoint of the animals. And much like everything else I do, I'm pretty much self taught.

Thanks to all the hosts of this blogfest! Again, you can see the list here of who is participating!