My first love was art. It was quite a surprise to learn I was also in love with writing. On reflection, I recall how much I liked having stories read to me as a girl. I remember how well my mother could spin a story. I always enjoyed English classes, and in fact, my English teachers tried to encourage me in that direction. No, I would say, I'm going to be an artist when I grow up.
Well, I made it to being an artist and now I'm also a writer. I work on paper or computer screen, depending on my mood, and what chair I want to sit in, and whether my dog Max is in the mood to give me his opinions on what I wrote. I love finding words to craft a tale. First, I collect the words and pile them in a stack. Then, I begin the selection process. I pull the words out of my stack and hold them to the light. I imagine whether the word I have chosen will reflect best what I wish to say. Sometimes I put the word into my piece and begin whittling the paragraph. Sometimes I pull just the right word out and at once I see its beauty and promise. I tuck the word tenderly into my sentence. I smile and congratulate myself on being a good writer.
Then, the next morning, I look at this beautiful word, and it seems to have developed bad breath. It is no longer a thing of beauty. I cut the entire sentence from the piece. There! I tell myself. Much better. I needed that one bad word to convince me to cut out the entire sentence. Yes. The piece is better without it. I laugh at the person I was the day before; the one who thought she was such a hoity toity writer. I hope today's Jennifer is smarter. I work my way forward through my piece and approach my word stack once again.
So, how did I find my way to writing? I wanted to create a book. I had an idea. Then all my memories of teachers encouraging me to write came back to me. I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but I was sure I could try. Rosalyn, my role model - the artist and great storyteller, and the even greater listener and "encourager" said, "Jennifer, I don't know why you shouldn't try. I've watched you succeed at things, once you set your mind on it." So I'm trying.