The Burning Desire To Write

I have always loved to write. At school if you had given me a choice between writing a short story and playing sport I would definitely have chosen to pick up a pen. Who influenced me in my early years? What inspires me today? What keeps me fired up to continue writing? Read on for the answers.

Pre-school days
My mother used to read to me at bedtime. My grandmother told me stories she had made up. I was brought up with the love of books and stories. When I was young my favourite author was Enid Blyton, back before she went out of favour .When I was seven or eight years old I aspired to be an author 'like Enid Blyton'.

Primary School days
From the time I could hold a pencil I have enjoyed expressing myself via the written word. Yes, I was that nerd who loved composition lessons in primary school.

I also wrote stories and poems in my spare time at home. I enjoyed making little books. Last year I ran into a woman who lived near me when I was a child and we hadn't seen each other in about 45 years. She is a few years younger than me. She said I made a book for her and that she still has it in a box somewhere in the shed.

I sent letters and some of my stories to Possum's Pages, a children's section in the Sunday Mail. Whenever anything of mine was printed I got very excited. Even though I have done lots of decluttering I still have some of the stories, discoloured by time. Yes, I have the certificates too.


Secondary School days
At secondary school I enjoyed English lessons. I particularly enjoyed it when we were given a topic that could be interpreted in an imaginative way.

Writing poetry was something I particularly liked. A few of my poems were printed in the annual school magazine. I still have those magazines.

I must make special mention of Mr Murray, the English teacher I had in third year and again in Matric. He once told me to never give up writing poetry. His words of encouragement have always stayed with me.

I was involved in the production of our school magazines and enjoyed being co-editor in my final year at school.

Later years
I have continued to enjoy writing whether it be poetry, short stories, essays at uni, articles or letters. Letter writing has always been important in my family. Mum and I exchanged letters on a regular basis until shortly before her passing. Even today in these times of email, several of my cousins and I communicate mostly by snail mail.

In the late eighties a friend and I wrote articles on environmental issues for our local newspaper.

When my second son was a baby I did a correspondence writing course which covered various forms of writing and was very helpful. This led to me getting a few articles published in magazines.

Hub Garden
About three years ago I came across Hub Garden and started submitting my work to numerous hubs. I get a great deal of satisfaction creating articles for Hub Garden.

Some of the great things about writing for Hub Garden include-

These things all keep me fired up to keep writing.

What inspires me to sit down and write an article or poem?
Kim McMillen wrote, 'When I loved myself enough I started writing about my life and views because I knew this was my right and my responsibility.'

Everyday events can inspire me and these include -
Read more at Five ways To Find Ideas For Articles and
Ten Ways To Get Ideas For Writing

What gives me a burning desire to write?
Writing - orientated activities really boost my desire to write, write, write. These include-

Even though the members of the writers' group I am a part of are working on different projects we share ideas and encourage each other. We have a weekly writing prompt and homework to keep us writing. This group is different to the previous writers' group I belonged to but both provide support and encouragement.

When I haven't written for a few days I miss it and can't wait to open up my laptop. Writing is something I need to do to express myself and it gives me a great deal of pleasure . To express themselves some people paint, some create pottery or do quilting but I write.


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