My Journey As A Writer
How and why I started writing
I thought it would be fun to delve into how and why I started writing — which is a great way to learn about and support other writers and why they’re here doing what they’re doing.
So I put the call out to you to do this yourself and answer these questions to share with all of us!
Why did you start writing?
I have always loved writing, and have written for as long as I can remember.
The first book I wrote I was in elementary school and it was an illustrated couple pages affair on a few folded pieces of construction paper tied together with a piece of yarn — about a knight who defeated a dragon to rescue a princess (yes, not original, I know, but I was only about 5 or 6!).
I started writing fiction as a kid/teenager (mostly Star Trek (The Next Generation) Fan Fiction — don’t judge!). I remember I once gave my dad a sci fi story I wrote as a Father's Day gift. Evil villain and all.
I can’t remember why I started writing, to be honest, except that I love reading (mainly fiction — and mostly fantasy) and so I guess I started writing because of that, as a natural evolution of reading.
I started writing fiction more seriously in 2009 or so, but I’ll get into that in the next question.
How did you start writing?
Back around 2009 I think it was, I stumbled across National Novel Writing Month (better known as NaNoWriMo), and so I joined. And that’s how I ended up writing my first fiction novel! I ended up doing NaNo, as it’s affectionately abbreviated, for about 5 years straight, ‘winning’ every year (to ‘win’ you have to write at least 50,000 words in the 30 days of November).
And then in my 6th year, I didn’t finish my story (though I had crossed the 50k goal), because my mom was in hospital, and later passed away in December of that year, 2015.
After that I stopped writing.
Until the summer the pandemic hit when I came across a short story contest and decided to write something for it (but didn’t win).
TL;DR as the kids say: The following year, December 2020, was when I first began writing non-fiction articles on the platform Elephant Journal…which eventually led me to discovering Medium in September 2021, and later Substack.
What is your niche?
Mostly, it’s Mental Health related stuff.
Since my mom died, I moved away from reading fiction (for the most part) and began reading a whole lot of self help type stuff — which somehow kind of veered into psychology / neuroscience / meditation / mindfulness type books so that’s kind of also what I enjoy writing about.
I run a Medium publication called Mindful Mental Health where people can write about, well, mental health issues and/or mindfulness (or both!).
What do you enjoy most about writing?
For my fiction writing, I like creating worlds and characters and thinking up fun things that happen to them. A lot of my writing is dark — dystopian/post- apocalyptic type stuff usually with a Steampunk flair.
For my non-fiction writing, I write because I just enjoy writing about things that interest me! Plus, I’d like to think my writing helps others in some way.
What is your biggest challenge with writing?
My biggest challenge is, when I run out of things to write about, finding or thinking of new things to write about!
If I have things to write about, I don’t find anything challenging about writing because I enjoy it so much — putting my thoughts, feelings, heart and soul out there. It’s very therapeutic and cathartic, actually.
Is writing your full-time job or something on the side?
It is on the side, right now, but I’d love it if it could become my full time job — as an introvert, I think being a full time writer would be a dream job! No need to leave the house and interact with the outside world unless I had to!
And that’s all she wrote, folks! I hope you learned something new about me and why I’m here sharing my thoughts, feelings and ideas with all of you! Thanks for reading!
If you want to join in with this prompt too, feel free!
And don’t forget to live with a dose of wonder!
My Substack is free!
But if what you've read or heard resonated with you, maybe you'll consider supporting me for less than the price of a fancy coffee - just $3! - by clicking below or the ‘Support Me’ link at the top. Thank you for your support. With gratitude.
Hi Caitlin. I like to read about how people got started and how they developed their skills. Here is my story.
Why did you start writing?
Words have always impressed me. Having grown up in an age where technology was a radio and a television I learned early that I could learn new words by exploring a dictionary. I found that informative and explored ways to use my new vocabulary. When my classmates objected to the use of my new vocabulary I switched over to finding ways to incorporate it into writing.
How did you start writing?
I formally started writing in High School. The teachers seemed to be impressed with what I wrote. I shared it with some classmates. They liked what I wrote and from that prompted some interesting discussions. I liked my poems and the freedom of expression it gave me. I liked writing short stories as it gave me the opportunity to put words into people's mouths that were interesting.
What is your niche?
Initially I wrote poetry with the occasional short story. After I became a teacher the opportunity arose to write musicals for students with another teacher. We spent more time laughing then writing but what we came up with that first year was memorable. We wrote 6 musicals together. One was put on the stage by a little theatre group. I wrote 6 musicals by myself with some help from a friend who was an amateur arranger.
For years I wrote the beginning page of a number of short stories. Work prevented me from focusing more. When I retired I began writing more poetry and then more short stories. Many of those stories I started but never finished are now finding their way back to my computer to be completed.
I still write a good number of poems per month.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
I like the exploration of ideas and concepts. I like how I can play with words and ideas, twisting them to fit my needs. I also like the satisfaction I get from finishing a story I have written.
What is your biggest challenge with writing?
I think that staying focused long enough to finish a story. I often write for an hour or two at a time and then set it aside. I have learned to recognize that when I get stuck, I need to set it aside for a bit until something hits me to change the direction and make me work towards completing it. I am not a planner by any means but I get frustrated when I can’t leave myself a note about what direction I should go next. Patience, I have learned, pays off because often when I return to a story I have new ideas to add in, but even with those it may not be time to finish it.
Is writing your full-time job or something on the side?
I was a teacher and teacher librarian. I am now retired and spend a great deal of time reading, writing and researching.