Publicly sharing more of my writing has been something I’ve been considering for a long time but I was hesitant because I felt very out-of-practice with my writing skills. But now I finally feel confident enough to share. Since just this year after the shutdowns began, I started writing a diary— just when you thought life would get boring. You’d be surprised what’s been happening in little ol’ me’s life. It’s been pretty interesting. Well... it's not like I had telepathic conversations and transcendental visitations or anything sci-fi recorded in my diary?... maybe... (insert Twilight Zone theme song here).
Anyway...
So doing a little bit of writing every day has strengthened my skinny little literary muscles and now I’m going to share more of my small written works on my site and social media. Don’t worry I’m not switching careers. It’ll be dominantly artwork with just a bit more writing here and there. Writing is a form of artistic expression; so why not share it on my art pages?
Some interesting reactions with a little history:
Mrs. D My fourth grade English teacher remembered me for my writing even six years after. I was delightfully surprised when the first thing Mrs. D asked me was if I was doing any writing lately as this was at a school jazz band performance when I was the notorious “tambourine girl”....... okaaay I know wasn’t that notorious... maybe just a little... haha. It’s interesting because I never thought my writing was much good at all in my elementary years. Mrs. D was very encouraging to me and her words resonated with me.
Mr. H my ninth grade English teacher described my serious writing as “provocative” as he also really enjoyed my comedic writing. I remember watching his reactions from afar as he quietly read my script of my very own zany little comedic sketch parodying American Idol. He was pretty cool. He had a giant framed poster of Earnest Hemingway in his classroom... wait I think he still has it. Either way he’s cool with or without the Hemingway poster.
Mrs. S my eleventh grade English teacher was someone who would not butter up the truth if it needed to be told and I admired her for that and I still do, she reminded me of my Mom— I wish more people would tell the truth straight up. Yet she was also kind and I liked her. There was one narrative essay I wrote about my fascinating and weird experience in a school play acting as a character who was very much the opposite of myself in just about every way. This was the first essay assignment of the semester, my fellow classmates handed theirs in before me and they were most displeased with their marks. So I was scared I was gonna bomb this one. But then shockingly I received my essay back with a 100% mark on it. I went back to Mrs. S to see if this was a mistake. She said “No.” I asked her again just to be sure this was not a mistake and she laughed a little as she told me again “No” then she elaborated on what she thought of it. She declared “I loved it” and that she “actually really enjoyed reading it”. I was still flabbergasted but when it started to sink into my brain I asked in my dorky higher pitched awestruck voice “You mean it?”. Mrs. S smiled while trying not to laugh “Yes.”.
And speaking of writing and acting...
Mister Sophisticated-Actor... or at least he likes to think he’s sophisticated. In reality the Joker has more fashion sense than he does (don’t worry readers it’s just an inside joke not an insult, don’t anybody lose their cool here). This Mister had the most delightful reaction in my opinion.
So last year I wrote something like a historical story that ended up being about 15 000 or 20 000 words long where I tried to document real-life events as plainly as possible to be shared publicly in a way where nobody out there would know who wrote it.
If the information given to me is true then the Mister's wife discovered this long written work of mine like finding a needle in a haystack. She was fascinated by the story then shared it with her hubby. The two both read it more than once and it impacted them dramatically especially the Mister, yet they both spoke about it “I love her writing” and something about the “flavour” of the words. Somehow they got the impression that I must be very old and wise. When hearing about this I was thinking “This is me trying to write plainly???”
When writing this particular “historical type” story I was worried nobody would want to finish reading it, but I was happily wrong. Mind you I prayed a lot while writing it with many prayers that often went like “God please help me. I have no idea what I’m doing.” Clearly God answered my prayers. As well God orchestrated things in a way where I got to meet this “Mr. Sophisticated-Actor” in a very interesting sort of way (that's another story for another time...maybe).
When I got to talking with Mr. Sophisticated and my writing was brought up I could see his expression embodied the delight of a shy little boy. I felt comfortable enough to tease him a little. (Be in mind Mister is a vegan and he’s partial to almond milk and black coffee, but not necessarily together). I said to him in a comedic little southern accent “You were soaking in my writing like a vegan biscuit soaking in some sweet vanilla almond breeze— I mean almond milk.... or in your case: black coffee.” as Mr. Sophisticated-Actor giggled playfully to hide that “guilty is charged”. Also apparently Mister and his wife shared the story with a close friend and their family and they too enjoyed reading it (if my information is correct). This has helped inspire me to do more writing. I hope I see Mr. Sophisticated, his lovely wife, and their close friend again soon. After the time I spent getting to know them they all have a special place in my heart.
You can look forward to seeing blurbs, poems, song lyrics, stories, and old and new itty-bitty writings from me in the near future in between my drawings and paintings. Feel free to explore my website and my posts. If my past teachers read this and you notice any of my grammar or punctuation mistakes please let me know in the comments. (Smiles)
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