Why now, at my age, do I suddenly have this compulsion to write? Actually, I’m not sure why. For better or worse, the words just keep swishing around in my head, sort of like the waves pounding on the beach. I learned that if I want to be able to sleep at night, I had better write for at least a while during the day! At one point in my life I thought I would love to write a novel, but the thought of creating complex characters and a detailed plot always seemed to drive out the prospect of actually tackling a full-blown novel. I’ve done a few children’s stories and a couple of poems, but neither seems to be my niche.
I just enjoy playing with words and phrases and have turned to the memoir, non-fiction type of writing as my preferred genre, at least for now. As I reflect back, Erma Bombeck and Dave Barry are two of my favorite memoir, human interest writers. The ability to find humor in everyday life is a special talent and one I would love to emulate. Would I like to be published? Well, of course I would. That is one of the reasons I have tried a blog format (and why I keep asking everyone to sign up for my blog!). It never hurts to have a cadre of loyal followers when you seek out a publisher!
Nothing pleases me more than when someone tells me that my latest blog reminded them of some experience in their own life or childhood. That is really the lure of writing, whether fiction or non-fiction. It is to draw the reader into your world, at least for a moment. The writer just becomes the vehicle to draw the reader into his world.
Maybe part of the reason I didn’t start writing sooner was that I was subconsciously waiting for technology to catch up. When I read about how Thomas Wolfe wrote his lengthy novels by hand on endless sheets of paper, it truly amazes me. We’re not even teaching kids how to write in cursive these days, which I think is a great loss. As my dusty memory recalls, I think we got to start learning cursive in 5th or 6th grade. That was so exciting, and we got to use real fountain pens with ink cartridges. I think there were several months there where my fingers were permanently stained with blue ink. Obviously learning to write in cursive with a fountain pen and doing it neatly were two entirely different skills. Contrary to popular opinion, I did not learn to write with a quill pen!
We have it so easy today. I can use my PC, my laptop, my iPad, and even my iPhone to get my thoughts down before they flit away out of reach. Since I have been trying to blog on a quasi-regular basis, my poor little leather bound journal has suffered from my neglect. I have journaled for years for my own entertainment. When I pass, all my friends and relatives had better decide whether they want to peruse all those little volumes, or just toss them into a big bonfire while quaffing a nice glass of chardonnay in my memory. I may be too frank for my own good! As I looked through several of those old journals, I noticed a rather disheartening trend. Every new year I had virtually the same New Year’s resolutions! One of those resolutions was always to write more and to get a book published. Well, I’m not published yet, but I am definitely doing the writing. As I get more sheer quantity, I will be ready to tackle the scary world of sending our query letters and trying to find a publisher.
When I decided it was time to get a bit more serious about writing, I did buy myself a new Webster’s College Dictionary, a new Roget’s Super Thesaurus, and Common Errors in English Usage. Sure, I could probably do all of those functions on-line, but there is something inherently more satisfying in just thumbing through the pages of a crisp, new dictionary. I told you I was a bit strange, didn’t I? Also, I continue to be amazed at the number of spelling and usage errors in the autocorrect functions in Microsoft, the Apple apps, and even in Word Press! I wonder who puts those together. I think they could use a little help.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my little essays. Please feel free to share and definitely give me your feedback.
©The Eclectic Grandma, 2016
