Writing

This was when I was 8 or so, and as time went on, I graduated to the "All Creatures Great and Small" series, with its multiple spinoffs, then heavier stuff. I read "Flowers for Algernon", "Animal Farm", "1984" and "Brave New World". Reading was easy for me, since I had a 12th grade reading level when I was in 5th grade. When the teacher left the room and or there was a substitute for the day, the students would get unruly, teasing, hitting, throwing things and in general, cutting up. I would be at my desk, quietly reading the dictionary. "'Obstreperous'...hmm. Seems to apply right now."

From there, in 1974, I started keeping a journal, writing about things that happened in my family, at school, and in general. I would mention songs and movies that were popular, places I visited, arguments I had or witnessed, all incidents that I found significant. I continued these journals through high school, and then in college, and still have them.

The college I attended had a Great Books curriculum. We did not use textbooks, we read and discussed the original works of the (mostly) ancient philosophers. We also had to write, write and write more papers. There was an assignment called "Protocol", that each student in the class had to take a rotation for. Their task: To take notes on the class discussion, add commentary from the reading and their own opinion, and synthesize it into a mini-paper to be read aloud and commented upon the next day.

I also had to write a thesis to get my Bachelors degree in 1987. This took the better portion of a year, but it got done!! 55 pages in length, it's about women's body images, how the standard of what is "attractive" changes frequently, and the implications of meeting, or failing to meet, the standard in American society. As a full-figured woman, I drew upon and incorporated some of my own experiences into the paper also. Boy, was I ever relieved when that final revision was made, and it was accepted by the professor. He actually read the final draft about an hour before I was due to march in the graduaton. Talk about cutting it close.

In January of 1996, I saw in ad in a local paper for a Writer's Group, where people would congregate and support each other's effort in writing. Something in me had wanted to get more into writing, and maybe even get an essay or story published. So, I went to the group, which was hosted at a university, by a college professor...only to be very disappointed! No works were read aloud; it was about the "process" and not the "product", and at one session, we were told to bring a piece of writing, and sit there and edit it for 20 minutes. This was in no way what I wanted. I wanted to read and hear each other's work, and give and receive support.

I decided to start my own group. I first called around and secured a meeting space at the local public library's group room, and then placed the ad in June, 1996. About 10 responses were received, and I told everyone what it was and to come on down. Some were actually afraid that it was going to be a harsh "critiquing" group, but I allayed their fears. Subsequently named, "Writers on the Storm" (I love puns!) we met every other Wednesday, from 7/96 to 1/98, until everyone's schedule became too busy to keep it going. As a result of it, I can now say proudly that I am a published writer, as a small paper printed a short story I wrote in 6/97. We also had a public reading of our works at a nearby art gallery in 11/97.

I am planning to explore avenues for having more of my writings published. My works are all personal experiences, no fiction. After all, some of the things that happen to me are so funny, poignant or bizarre that fiction is unnecessary.

However, I have recently completed a long article for a local newspaper. Its topic is artists' perspectives on self-marketing strategies. I interviewed three individuals (my pianist, Anatoliy; Tara Noftsier, a sculptor, and Randy, my guitarist). They discussed how use of the Internet as well as personal contacts, performances/shows, exhibits, and so on have assisted them so far, and their plans for the future. It was fun to do; I felt like a "real" reporter, with the tape recorder and legal pad and all. The first was published in September, 2003, and the other two were in December and March.