Bakersgirl’s writing and more
Bakergirl’s writes articles, reviews, and much more!Why do I write?
Why Write? What made you want to be a writer?
These two questions are so intertwined for me that I can’t answer one without answering another. I believe that the answer has to do with the first book that I read because I was told “You can’t read that, it’s far too old for you,” When I was in fourth grade. Yes, tell a stubborn fourth grader she can’t do something … and guess what happens? They go do it just for spite. My class had just finished reading the Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien out loud. The book she said I couldn’t read? Why The First book of the Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring. I was hooked, read through all three books the summer between my fourth and fifth grade year, and I never looked back. My mother later had me take some tests in school – it turned out that my fourth grader self could read at a eleventh grade level.
Not long after the “You can’t read that” stubborn streak, I got bored during the summer and started making up my own stories. This was back in the land of no cable – (yes kids, your parents grew up with no TV channels, or very little TV.) I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the beginning stages of my writing life. Making the stories up lead to writing them down… and well you can see where I went from there.
From that point on when people asked, “Hey, what’s Bakersgirl doing today?” My mother’s response was “She’s writing/reading”. Writing came to me like breathing comes to others. I had come to a point in my life in which I couldn’t not write. Other kids got excited over video games; I was thrilled when I got my first typewriter.
Over the years I developed other interests; horses and boys were two prime occupations of my teen age self. Then, I got married, and my first husband made writing difficult. He took the joy out of it by wanting to know my every move – or he would make sarcastic comments that killed all the fun of writing. I ended up with a writing block that lasted for over five years. Yes, people snicker and say there is no such thing as a writing block – but trust me, there is and I’ve had them.
I started writing again after I divorced the first husband – nothing serious just bits and pieces of stuff here and there. I married my second husband in 2005 – and he’s been my writing cheerleader. He claims I have a gift – I think I have a skill that I need to keep practicing at to get it right. About two years ago I really got back into the swing of it, fanfiction had sparked my interest. Certain online games let me explore the world of designing rooms, and that brought out my descriptive writing. I blogged on and off, and I wrote bits and pieces of stories over time.
Fast forward to September of 2008. I had just left a job that was overly stressful – I was over worked, under paid, under appreciated and strung out. I took a strong look at my life, and tried to figure out what was working and what wasn’t working. That’s when I realized that I needed to start doing what I love as a serious occupation. I wrote my first 56,000 word novel in November of 2008 – via National Novel Writing Month. It’s called Compassion, and I’m damn proud of it, even though its no where near publishable or even readable yet. I now have other novels in the works, and I’m trying to tap into the freelancing field.
Writing is one of my greatest joys and passions, its something that I’ve done since I was young. I use it as an outlet for my emotions, a way to express ideas, and a way to get my opinions across. I use it to amuse myself, and others. I love the written word, and I enjoy being able to create worlds out of thin air. I’m finally pursuing a dream that I’ve loved all my life, and even though it’s scary to put myself out there, I’m doing it in ways that I never imagined possible. The most important part of writing, to me, is that it gives me a creative outlet, and lets my voice be heard.
It’s the bomb, writing.. yes? Like a non writer’s breath, is what writing is to a writer.