On Writing

I have a life-long fascination with writing. 

It began in the 1st Grade when I was let loose in the library. The first thing I read through were all the Andrew Lang Colored Fairy Tale Books. I immediately started writing and illustrating my own fairy tales.

In middle school I was singled out in the 8th grade for a story I had written. I wish I could remember what it was!

In college I studied literature as a prelude to being a writer. Of course.

In my mid-30's I was home-bound with 2 babies and I wrote several short stories and 2 books for Scholastic. A sample of a story by me. Two more stories.

When I moved to Cleveland I joined the Cajun Sushi Hamsters from Hell, (known as the "Hamsters") and participated in a genre workshop with a number of really great writers, and wrote some 20 stories.

For the last five years I wrote paper after paper and finally a dissertation for my doctorate.

Tonight I got lost reading about creativity at brainpickings.com, (thanks to my sister Cynthia who passed this on to me) a website that curates a wealth of writing, drawing, Ted-talking (new verb!) whimsy, exploration and ideas on just about anything you can think of!  Its creator, Maria Popova, when asked about whether she will write a book in a New York Times interview, says, “That’s such an antiquated model of thinking. Why would I want to write something that’s going to have the shelf life of a banana?” NY Times Interview

I am not sure I agree with that! But I do enjoy her blog—it is an ADD/ADHD  cocktail party with the famous and lettered and creative.

Here is a list of books on writing that I have found inspiring:

On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, 2nd Edition by Natalie Goldberg

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton

Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew by Ursula K. Leguin

Creating Short Fiction: The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction by Damon Knight

Blogging does indeed scratch the writer's itch. But I do wonder what will happen to this collective outpouring of thoughts, dreams, speculations and daily tabulations. Blogging allows anyone to become a writer with instant publication. Anyone who has started browsing blogs and been bounced around blogging circles understands that there is now an infinite # of blogs - even as you read more are created.

So that begs the question, what is the shelf life of a blog? I guess it is the same as the shelf-life of a virtual banana.