TEN REASONS I WRITE

1. I truly believe I was born to write. I have done many things in my life and held numerous jobs (I currently love my day job) but through it all writing was always a part of what I did.

2. I love to create stories and then look back and think- Did I write that?

3. I want to see my name on a book cover. I want to see what my first book cover will look like (I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to this).

4. I love anything that has to do with words. Words to me are like numbers to a mathematician.

5. It is therapeutic to my soul. When I sit down to write, it’s like taking a mini vacation. Everything and everyone falls to the side. I could find myself on a beach, walking a desert or on the top of a mountain.

6. I’m an observer. Observing without producing is wasteful as far as I’m concerned.

7. I’d like my words to help someone else interpret life in a way they never thought they would.

8. I want my children to be able to have my words to read after I’m taken from their life.

9. It’s exciting. Any emotion I am feeling can be released through writing.

10. If I didn’t write, I wouldn’t be me.

We all have reasons to do what we do. I’m sure many of my reasons are similar to yours but I would still like to hear why you write. Do you have a reason different from the ones I listed?

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Who Will You Thank?

I love when I finish a book for many reasons but today I will only discuss one of the reasons. You would think the first thing I would do after finishing a book would be reflect, but I don’t do that until after I have read the acknowledgements. I guess you could say I’m a bit corny. I won’t allow myself to read the acknowledgements until I have finished the book (I’m not somebody that looks ahead to find out what’s happening either. I like waiting).
Once I know I have completed reading I race to that page where the author does some of his or her own reflecting. I love to see who they have thanked and why. I also gain valuable information such as who the author’s agent is. Reading an acknowledgement allows me to daydream of what my own would look like. Who would I thank? What agent’s name will be listed? What interesting facts about myself would I like to share?
I thought about writing a mock acknowledgement on this blog (I was very tempted) but decided not to in fear that doing so would somehow jinx me (yes, I’m a bit superstitious).
I recently was given a Kindle for my birthday and my first thought was… will there still be an acknowledgement section? I still don’t know because I haven’t jumped ahead to see.
Reading that short paragraph at the end assures me that all authors have someone who helped them along the way, someone who encouraged them, someone who believed in them, someone who wasn’t afraid to critique them and finally someone who helped turn their dream into a reality. They were where so many of us still are. Seeing that they made it allows us to hope one day we will too.
Do you read the acknowledgements? What do you like the most about them? Have you ever thought of who you would thank?

I HAVE A THINKING SPOT DO YOU?

As a young girl, my friends and I spent most of our days hidden underneath a Weeping Willow. It was our place. A magical spot obscured from everyone. Under the Willow, we took journeys to different places, shared secrets, stole kisses and expanded our imaginations. Life was never boring as long as we had our tree. As all children do, we eventually grew up and left the Willow but the Willow never left me. When I met my husband I shared my memories with him and would often have him drive me by the tree to reminisce. I knew he was listening but was still surprised when years later I came home to find my very own Weeping Willow in my backyard. It started off small but gradually grew to be as big as the one I sat under as a young girl. Nestled under my tree is a swing where I like to sit and think of journeys, secrets and kisses. My imagination expands when I’m under the tree and I have now declared it my thinking spot. It’s my sacred place where ideas bloom, stories unfold and my journal fills up with future stories that I hope one day others will read.
Every writer whether they are aware of it or not has a thinking spot. A place where they go to plot out a story, create characters and develop scenery. Where is your thinking spot?