I haven’t always loved the written word. As a child, in fact, I was a reluctant reader. At age 8, I received a Christmas anthology entitled Best in Children's Books from my aunt, a gift I looked upon as slightly less welcome than a pair of socks. In fact, this ungrateful child tossed the book aside and didn’t look at it again for several years, until on a boring, rainy afternoon, I finally flipped open the dreaded collection, and discovered: first, a lovely dated inscription; and second, a story entitled, Christmas in the Big Woods; and I was hooked!I read the whole book, cover to cover, and the Christmas in the Big Woods chapter from Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder over and over again. At the urging of my parents, I sought out the school librarian to see if Laura Ingalls Wilder had written anything else and was delighted to discover her to be the author of an entire series of books. No longer a reluctant reader, I read the Little House books from the library until the librarian despaired I would never graduate to anything else; but, I did.
Required school reading, including: The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham and The Wars by Timothy Findley expanded my love of reading and of words and ideas. A first year university English course forced me to learn to write essays, for which I discovered I had a talent.
Out of school, I discovered Mary Cook, author of One for Sorrow, Two for Joy and Robert Fulghum who wrote All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, collections of short stories that inspired me to begin penning short stories of my own. Imagine my surprise when a short humourous anecdote sent to Reader’s Digest resulted in payment for its publication, and republication a few years later.
While earning a Writing for Publication community college certificate with Tom Torrance, a talented and inspiring local writer and poet, I gained the courage to send more samples of my writing to various publications, occasionally being published. Winning 1st prize in the 2004 Clinton Cowboy Poetry Contest is a direct result of my studies with Tom.
Around this same time, I was accepted as a member of the Hamilton Spectator Community Editorial Board, which allowed me to write a 700 word article for my local newspaper every six to seven weeks over an 18 month term. I delighted in writing about everyday events that inspire recognition, ordinary people who do extraordinary things or make unexpected contributions, and sharing personal experiences that illustrate my views on community and world events. While this opportunity was relatively short-lived, it was an amazing time for me in that I found my individual voice and signature writing style, which resonated with readers and gave me confidence in my writing ability.
Through all this I’ve discovered that I love to write! A one-time reluctant reader has learned to love the written word, and I hope to continue my reading and writing journey. Specifically, I want to expand the skill and mental energy that goes into producing thought-provoking stories and rhyming and non-rhyming structural poetry; and, while my dream would be, to be published in a big way or on a regular basis; in the meantime, this revelation leads me to start a blog.
It is my hope to make regular postings here, at A Written Reflection, be they non-fiction articles, poetry, or personal musings on any number of topics. I may even, from time to time, post some of my previously published pieces or unpublished personal favourites. Only time will tell. All that really matters, I suppose, is that I continue to write what I love, and that hopefully you’ll enjoy reading what I write. Fingers crossed!
