So staring at a screen with a sty isn’t very comfortable and I feel like I’m sporting a Hunchback of Notre Dame look right now. Tell me I look pretty, Anonymous Reader! Tell me! I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m going to have to just suck it up so here is today’s blog. According to the schedule I’m supposed to blog about my writing career, the craft of writing, etc. For this blog I’m going to introduce you to the type of writer I am, a little of my writing history, and a little of what I’ve learned throughout life. Let’s start with a history then, shall we?
I knew I wanted to write when I was in fourth grade. A little early for making those kind of decisions, but it’s really when I first realized that I did have a gift for words. My fourth grade teacher, Ms. Dominique, took me from being a math and science type of girl to being a reading and writing type of girl. I remember she would personally sit with me and talk about books, recommending some and discussing others. She would also talk to me about the techniques of writing and for some reason I absorbed everything she said like a vacuum placed on the floor of a hut (For those reading who are educators and feel like you aren’t impacting your students the way you would like, just know, there is a student among that sea that will carry you with them in their lives. Now, it may be for a positive or negative reason, but at least you taught something that will affect a life.)
Since then I continued to write and dream. English remained my favorite subject (and still is) and I was published in a couple of collections that featured young writers etc. during middle school. In high school I took part in the yearbook, but that was short lived once I found out that the miniscule writing we did do was very bland and tasteless. I was also published in Teen Ink for some poetry (but what issue, I can’t remember) and submitted a ton of work into the school’s lit mag (Literary Magazine for those who are not English savvy). I also started my first novel in high school, but eventually dropped the project since my love for the characters and story died. I learned that this just happens sometimes and the only thing you can do is walk away from the project and hope the sparks come back. One day I may pick it back up and decide I can continue, but for now, I think I have better projects in mind.
Now, when college rolled around I had the idea of becoming an English major, but when I told my mother about this idea her thought was this: “That’s not a real career.” My mother believed that anything that wasn’t “science based” wasn’t a way to make a living. And me being the impressionable and “mother-pleasing” young adult that I was, I walked into the University of South Florida with the goal of getting my bachelors in pre-medicine science. That was short lived.
My first semester in college included Chemistry. In high school I dreaded chemistry and nothing had changed in college. Sitting in my seat, one of three hundred people filling up the auditorium, I was miserable. The kind of miserable that makes you think about what the hell you’re doing with your life. I couldn’t take it. I didn’t want to study molecules, fission, compounds and atoms. I wanted to study plot, enjambment, character, and penultimate lines (of course I didn’t know much of what those words meant before I started studying, but that’s not the point, Anonymous Reader. The point is I wanted out of Chem Hell!)
Even though I knew my mom didn’t approve and that a job wasn’t secure (no job in any field is anymore) I changed my major to what I am doing now: English. And you know what, it’s the best decision I could’ve made. To me, being happy is more valuable than having job security.
So, now I’m a junior waiting for my spring semester to start and I can proudly say I am an English major, concentration on creative writing, with a minor in public health. I know English and public health have no real connections, but I took a liking to the subject and since I was already ruining my future, I decided to just do it.
My mom has become more understanding of my decision and I think she’s just happy that she has a daughter succeeding in college (sorry, but my sis pulled an epic fail when she tried). Everyone still gives me this weird look after I tell them I’m an English major though. When I see relatives for the first time in month or years they always ask “What are you studying?” When I say “English” I might as well say “Giving awesome blowjobs” because they always look at me like something has gone wrong with my brain. I’ve gotten used to it though. One day I’ll have a book published and I’ll throw a copy at each of their smug Spanish faces (haven’t decided if it will be a translated version or not) to show them that I did make the right decision and that even though they didn’t offer their support, I didn’t need it to begin with.
That’s my experience so far really. I want to start submitting my work to Lit Mags, but I’m always worried that a piece isn’t ready or at its prime. I’m still learning, but I think it’s about time I take the chances.
If you’re wondering what kind of stuff I write, that’s a good question. I don’t have a set genre that I write or anything. Ultimately, I write what I want whether it be memoir, fantasy, YA (young adult), or erotica (yes, I’ve played with writing erotica, what of it Anonymous Reader?). I also write poetry, critiques (as you have experienced, hopefully) and short stories. Basically, ANYTHING I WANT.
When I get publish somewhere, you will definitely be told, Anonymous Reader. Hopefully by then I’ll have a pretty decent following and maybe I’ll gain some more after getting my work out there. Writing is a 24/7 job. One that requires you to read and write everyday so that you can grow. It’s hard to accomplish when you have work, school, and a life to think of, but it’s not impossible. While I’m at work I’m constantly thinking about story ideas, where to take my current story, what I want to read when I get home, what will happen next in a book, etc. Being a writer doesn’t just mean you put words on page. It means that every day you are surrounded by the craft in some way or another and that you have a message you want others to hear.
I think I’m done for today since my eye is now watering in pain from having to stare at a screen once again. I hope you got to know me a little more though and this won’t be the last time you’ll be hearing about the craft of writing. One day, you too will realize that English is EVERYWHERE. Scary idea right?
Well I’m off to rest my eye before work. See ya later, Anonymous Reader.
~The Ink Eater
Quote/Event/Insight of the day:
Aunt: “You made your (ear) gauges bigger! I know you did, I’m not stupid. You
shouldn’t do tha.t”
Me: Goes and checks the package of the gauges. “Just what I thought. These
are the same size gauges I’ve been wearing for SIX MONTHS…thanks for
proving you’re stupid Auntie.”
(She says this EVERYTIME she sees me. If I did stretch my ear for every time
she repeated this nonsense I’d be able to fit a coconut through my lobe.)
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