Monday, February 13, 2012

Daydreamer to Writer: Origins


     I wanted this post title to sound as cool as X-Men: Origins. Didn't really work, did it?
     


     Sadly, I'm no Superhero, and my Origin isn't nearly as exciting. I didn't get bitten by a radioactive writing bug, I wasn't born on an alien planet called Authoron, I wasn't sequestered into a lab and had pencils grafted onto my bones that shoot out of my knuckles when I'm threatened by a great story idea.


     The first story I ever wrote was called Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Bloody Mary. I was in Grade 2. It was more than 100 pages. Someone, I don't remember who, made the comment- probably very offhandedly and solely due to the vast length of the work- "hey, you should be a writer."
     And so I was suddenly gifted with the power of words, plotting, grammar, descriptive settings and memorable characters.

     HA! You didn't believe me, did you?

     Unfortunately, I didn't magically receive any such gifts. Instead, its been an uphill battle against the forces of evil: namely, myself. AKA: laziness, ineptitude, discouragement, waiting for the "right" time, lack of inspiration, lack of motivation, distractions, and a myriad of feelings: stupidity, worthlessness, and overall suckage, to name a few.

     They ain't called the forces of evil for nothing!

     Even though I've waged this battle since the tender age of seven, it wasn't until the ripe- not old but fearfully late- age of twenty-nine that the odds turned more in my favor. Yep, I channeled my inner Katniss (even though I didn't know who that was at the time) and decided if I was going to win, then I had to pick up my bow, pencil, put my fingers on the friggin' keyboard, and actually write an entire novel.


     The battle still isn't over. I'm still in the arena, fighting those awful forces of evil to the death. But now I'm armed with three novels under my belt, my discouragement is more easily squashed, those
all-powerful beings- AKA: agents- have shown interest, I've got fabulous writer friends as allies, and you know what they say- the more you battle, the more you win (someone says that, I swear!).
     And most importantly, I want nothing else but to write write write, no matter how hard the battle might become, because it's what I'm meant to do. Because it is my destiny.

     Dah-da-da-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
PS- I really wanted to put a superhero cartoon with my head stuck on it right here, but while I may have superhero writing skills, that evil nemesis Picture Editing has defeated me once again.

10 comments:

  1. When I read the blogfest title, I thought of the same X-Men title!! And I understand writing as your destiny...it's mine too. And it's wonderful, even when it's not.

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  2. Ahh, I love your Hunger Games analogy. That right there is enough for me to follow you! I'm glad you didn't give up and decided to pick up that pencil again!

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  5. Hopefully I don't mess up on this comment too.

    I just watched X-Men: First Class. *sigh* James Mcavoy.

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  6. You've gotta fight evil, right? : ) Batman was my biggest comic inspiration. I still have a slight obsession with him, even today.

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  7. Awesome story! I'm still fighting those evil forces too. Yet we continue writing and that's what makes us superheroes/writers.

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  8. Fight like Wolverine ... mmmm Wolverine was my favourite even before Hugh Jackman made him sexy ;)

    I think tenacity goes hand in hand with writing :D

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  9. I fight the evil forces every day. Congrats on over coming.

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  10. Well it sounds like you're on the right track! My first (written) story that I remember was about this famous snow cone maker's son... they were penguins. Good luck and congrats! :)

    Sonia

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