WHY I WRITE
My
best friend, Amy Shojai, tagged me to join her in a “Why I Write” blog hop. Amy
and I have been in a writing group together for twenty years. She not only is
she an animal behaviorist with multiple cat and dog care books, but she’s
written two “Thrillers with bite.” “Lost and Found” and Hide and Seek.” Visit her
at http://amyshojai.com
Why
I write has always been a difficult question to answer. So, here are several
reasons.
- By the time I was in third grade, I
realized I could read every book in the library, even if I couldn’t
understand it. I was so excited. That’s when I fell in love with books and
words. I couldn’t get enough of reading and listening to others read, like
my grandmother.
- In school I was in the library club,
wrote book reviews, and was the kid who enjoyed writing essays. My sister
and I took the bus to the downtown Dallas library every week during the
summer and checked out as many books as possible. I should have known even
then that I would be destined for the writing life.
- I wrote my first book when romances were
the first big thing. I saw writers on television talk about being writers
and for some reason figured out you did not have to live in New York to be
a writer. I was a little slow to pick up on that.
- I wanted to be published, but even more,
I wanted to give other people the same pleasure of getting lost in a book
that I also enjoyed. I’ve learned a lot.
The writing life is hard, long, and difficult
to break into. If you focus on the on the end product, you might get lost.
Focus on the journey, enjoy the writing and editing, send off the manuscript
and write the next one. To make a living as a writer, be willing to write
fiction, non-fiction, teach and spread your wings in multiple directions.
- Back to why I write. I love books and
stories. My grandmother was a wonderful story teller. She told me and my
sister scary tales at bedtime, to my mother’s lasting horror. For me, the creation of worlds allows me
to get lost in other lives and reading allows me to enjoy worlds created
by others. I love Post apocalyptic and paranormal tales.
- I’m finally retired from 50 years of
nursing. As much as I love writing fiction, nonfiction pays more quickly.
I’ve been writing non-fiction, medical-technical and pet related. So, even
though I can now write full-time, I have to divide writing time between
paying gigs and fiction. But, I’m doing what I always wanted to do,
full-time, and love it.
- The most difficult part of the writing life for me, is the fact that writing time takes away from reading time and I love reading. Never have enough time for reading, never have too many books. Never have enough time for all the art I want to create.
Now it’s time for me to tag a
couple of other writers.
Rinda Elliot has written the Beri
O’Dell series,”Dweller on the Threshhold” and “Blood of an Ancient.” She also
loves making wine and gardening. Go visit her at https://relliott4.wordpress.com
Tabitha Shay is a romance writer
who writes witchy titles such as “Witch’s Brew” Witch’s Heart” Witch’s Moon” Now
she’s added angels to the mix and you can meet the Angels from Deadwood. You
can visit her fun website at www.tabithashay.com
Be sure to come visit me at www.carolshenold.net or http://carol-carolsinkspot.blogspot.com.
“Fairy Dust”, “Privy to Murder” and “Bloody Murder” are all available at www.Amazon.com
