How I became a Writer

My mother told me I was a writer. That was roughly forty years ago but I didn't believe her until eight years ago when I met the editor of Capper's Magazine and she told me my mother was right.

She published my first short story, The Fifteenth Scarecrow. Three years later she published it as a book. My second book, The Matchmaker was also published by Ogden Publications.

Sometimes I worry that a Professor of English with patches on his elbows (signifying his obvious writing ability) will dispute that I have the right to be published. I still worry that I am not worthy of actually telling anyone that I am an author. Maybe that's why I keep writing. I'm just hoping to prove that it is all legitimate and that I do indeed have the right to introduce myself as an author.

How did someone so emotionally stunted find the courage to actually give a story to an editor to read? That was purely the result of joining Writing.Com.

Sure, I wrote and sent in stories, entered contests and counted the rejections for years. I went through the, "Your Poem Is Published!" It was an empty feeling that anyone's poem was published and how did that prove anything? But, then I found Writing.Com and other writers were actually saying something encouraging about my work. Maybe I wasn't a fake? Maybe I did have something. It was worth a shot.

Sometimes I grumble because my books aren't selling off the shelf and I certainly do not make public appearances on talk shows. My friends tell me that I should be "proud" to even be published. That's when the old, "Your Poem Is Published!" rears its ugly head and I wonder if it's really proof of my worth. Those were my first writing awards-- "Your Poem is Published!" and for only $39.95 you can own a hard bound copy of your work.....

Sometimes I get depressed. I think I'll never be as good as.... Or as well known as.... Or even respected as....but, I have no choice. Even if I never go down in the hall of great writers I have to write. It's the blood that runs through my veins. It helps to have readers, but even if no one read what I wrote, I'd still have to write it.

I can't write mysteries. My hat goes off to mystery writers with their calculating minds and ability to sort details and balance a story amidst relating clues. It hurts my head to keep it all straight.

I can't write Sci-Fi simply because I don't understand science.

I can't write hard hitting novels that reveals conspiracies and startling twists of fate.

I write about people. I've spent a lot of years studying people and there are so many stories out there that need to be told. It just seems to me as though the world is getting a little confused as to what is important. I don't want the people to be forgotten during this crisis of business, money, war, and discussions about what we are doing to the earth. We are also polluting the stories of our people. I hope to keep some of those stories alive.

I am a writer and a published author but seldom do I introduce myself as either.

I tried once or twice at a party and the reaction I received varied from, "Yeah, right."
"I don't read much, has it come out as a movie?"
"I wish I had a fun hobby like that."

How did I become a writer? I was born one.