ON WRITING

I am a writer. Having had the passion and love of the written word since I was able to hold a pencil, makes me a grateful writer and reader. I am constantly reading something. Whether it’s a book, a magazine, a newspaper (yes, I am old enough that I still love to get ink on my hands) or an online article.

I have always been a passionate person by nature. I love passionately, especially my family. I work as a reading specialist with elementary school children and I am always excited when they have those “aha” moments. It fills me to the brim. Reading and writing have been important to me my whole life, and I realize that having those skills has helped me throughout my life. I focus on both reading and writing with my students. I know that in order to write well, children must learn the basic elements of storytelling. This happens by reading, discussing and analyzing the text they read.  Reading and writing are the most essential skills children can learn. It helps them in every subject they study.

Years ago, when I was young and naïve, I fancied that someday when I was able to only be a writer, I would live in a cabin with a huge picture window seeing nature unfold before me. But truth is, as writers we cannot write in isolation, nor can we live in isolation. This notion appealed to my socially-introverted self at the time, but then who or what would we write about? For without being around people, how would we observe them? For interacting with others is food for our souls, sustenance for our writing, it gives us more wordplay, and nuances for our dialogue. As I tell my students, in order to understand dialogue, you must read fiction. How can teachers teach building believable characters, without the student knowing and understanding their own favorite characters from books?

As a writer, who is often busy with much on my plate, finding the time to write can be as elusive as finding that proverbial needle in a haystack. That has always been the dilemma for me. When I had young children, writing was for stolen moments in between naps or early mornings. When I began working again, writing was for nighttime when everyone was sleeping. Now that my children are all out, I still work full-time, plus I have my mother with me who needs care, so once again I have to schedule my time to write. The point is, we all have busy lives, and there is always an event, company staying with us, children, pets, and so on that get in the way of our writing. But we must forge ahead and find the time. Because writing isn’t just a thing we do, it’s who we are. It’s our passion and we are always hoping that it is our tour de force.
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The thing is: every writer I know, feels compelled to do what they do. It’s an internal calling that must be pursued. If we weren’t compelled, why we would subscribe to the nearly constant rejection?  Let’s face it, rejection isn’t easy, especially in the beginning. Not that the rejection gets easier, but it is more logical when you realize it isn’t about you, it’s about the work. Even the well-known, highly prolific, Jane Yolen, still finds she gets rejections. Knowing that helps me realize that it is truly about the work. It doesn’t matter how many books you’ve had published—though I imagine it helps a little—what matters is the work. Every piece we submit needs to shine as bright as the sunniest day. For after all, we want our work to be published. We want our words to matter. We want to envision a family sitting together reading our book. We want to leave a legacy of our words. Why you ask? Simply because we are writers. It's what we do!