Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Beginnings

The North Star

The North Star to me is something of a wonder. Beautiful and constant. My life has been tethered to certain things my whole life and like the North Star, they've helped guide me, given me perspective and direction. And since this is post number one, I'm allowing myself a bit of sentimentality.

Writing is one of those North Stars. My love and passion for writing has shaped nearly every choice I've made. That's no small thing. I began writing when I was in sixth grade. My first piece of work was a short story I called, "Google". Not joking. Wish I could pull some strings and claim some rights on that word now.  Writing has been in the equation as long as I can remember; When I signed up for classes in high school, when I chose my major in college, when I moved to North Carolina, and especially now.

As long as I'm writing on a more personal note, I'll mention my Dad. He passed away almost two years ago. I miss him. He always encouraged my writing. He believed I could be a successful author if that's what I wanted. Some days I would come home from school or college and find a clipping from the newspaper about an upcoming writers contest or conference. My Dad was a man of few words but he always found ways to show his support. Even when I changed my major in College (four times) he always asked, 'Well, what about your writing?' He reminded me that writing was in my blood so to speak and worth giving an honest chance. He's right.

After his death I began thinking about writing and wondering if I could turn my long time dream of being a writer into a reality. I began by writing a children's book for him and that simple story has been the catalyst for this new venture in my life. The last year and a half has been a whirlwind of writing, reading, writing, attending conferences, writing, blogging, studying up on the millions of things I don't know - but should, writing, querying and writing. Somewhere between all that, my life with my sweet children hums along at a steady clip. I just hang on and am grateful for the ride!

I'm doing exactly what I love and more than that, I'm doing exactly what's right for me at this moment in life and there's a lot of peace in that. No matter what, my writing has enriched my life and once again, has influenced it's course.  Thanks so much to Family, and Mom and Dad, and God and my Kids for the direction, support and light they give me every day.  

I'll be posting every Thursday and aside from today's personal detour, the blog will be focused on the craft and development of writing.
-Sara

3 comments:

  1. You're off to a great start! So funny--your first story named "Google". Do you still have it?

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    1. Yes. The whole story is about people trying to describe it's ugliness or it's hideousness, but not being able to do it justice. ;) I think the lesson in school must have been centered around learning adjectives or adverbs. I'm not sure. :)

      Thanks for coming over and joining! You're awesome and I will hopefully see you in a sprint or something. :)

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