BellaOnline Forums Career Fiction Writing When did you want to write?

I started this thread in the Children's book writing site so thought it would be a good question to ask here as well.
For those of you who want to be or are writers, when did you first decide that you wanted to write books ands make money from them?

I wanted to be a writer ever since I was in the sixth grade and read my first chapter book as a class. Each one of us would a paragraph or two out loud in each chapter and I was enthralled by it for reasons I cannot even explain now.

I even got my first typewriter on my 13th birthday. My cousin and I used to write silly commercials and stories to go along with pictures we drew of Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, etc...

What's your story?

I started writing stories in grade school and wanted to be a writer then. I took a detour in the military for about 8 years and in college, I majored in English and History so I could write historical novels.

Over the years, when my daughter was small, I wrote 3 romance novels but never got one published. I did get a couple of short stories published in those years. Eventually I got side tracked and it still took me another 15 years to start writing professionally. I got hired on at a small town newspaper, then branched out to other freelance writing.

I still think I have a book in me and part of my new years' resolution is to get out a suspense novel I've been working on and see how far I can take it.

Hi Vance, I have written many editorials over the past years for newspapers, now I am a local correspondent for my newspaper back on the east coast. I, of course, write of my adventures here in Alaska.
I began writing my book on my journey from Pennsylvania to Alaska. A two week road trip and what has happened since. It is a work in progress but one which many people have encouraged me to write.

Joan,

If you think you have a book in you then you do have a book in you. Take out that novel and get started on it.

Bahrain, that sounds cool keeping track of your trip and then plan on making a book out of it. I never thought of doing something like that but I would if I were you. I am sure there would be a lot of people interested in reading it. Especially those who are planning on a similar trip. That way they can learn from your mistakes and learn from your successes as well.

Joan, I agree with Vance - it's a new year, a perfect time to start writing that book!

I wanted to be an author from the moment I grasped the concept that a real person created the books that I loved to read. In fact I started writing before I even knew the entire alphabet, I just skipped out the letters I didn't remember! I glued pieces of paper together to make little booklets I could write in.

And before I even made the conscious decision, I was a storyteller. Sleepovers rarely involved sleeping because I had request after request for stories, and I just kept making them up. My friends and I played games that contained elaborate plots half-formed from parts of TV shows and books - Alice in Wonderland was a favourite starting point for games. And then we also put on plays for our families - dressing up and coming up with a little story to act out on a "stage".

OK, you guys have inspired me to get my book out!

Joan

I used to staple mine together.

Well, so far it is pretty much unanimous. We have all wanted to be writers since childhood. That is pretty interesting.

Vance I used to staple mine too LOL The summer before 4th grade my little brother broke my finger so I could go swimming, climbing trees, play ball with the boys etc. So I was stuck in the house or the yard puttering around. I got a library card and I was done. I would bring home a stack of books all summer and read. Then later on in 4th grade I got chiucken pox REALLY bad. I mean I had them in my hair, my ears, even so bad on the bottom of my feet my dad had to carry me to the bathroom because I couldn't walk. THen I had an allergic reaction to medication they put me on. I was out of school for nearly 2 months. My dad would go get my school work for the week and I would have it done in no time. I started reading something called Choose Your Own Adventure books. (Anyone remember those??) I loved them and decided I could do it too. I wrote about 5 of them between being sick to 6th grade. I even sent 2 of them to the company that published the books. I got my first rejection letter at the age of 12. LOL I was devistated and really didn't write again until my 10th grade English teacher liked my papers so well that she asked me help her and some other students get the newspaper started again! I was the editor for 2 years. When I publish my first book, she is going to be the first one on the acknowledgements and I am going to send her a copy. She STILL works at the high school I graduated from!

lol Jeanette,

I got my first rejection letter from a wrestling magazine that I sent a partial manuscript to and got a rejection letter and I got excited.

I was like, "Yes! I am now officially a struggling writer!"

Hi Vance. Yes, I figured that keeping a journal on the trip of a lifetime was well worth it and boy was it ever. Just with all the little things that happened along the way in each place and on the road, and the people you meet. It's an excellent way to keep special memories and also to write the book of a lifetime.

Keep that in mind the next time you take a trip everybody, take a journal and write down the daily events and happenings and the interesting characters that you come in contact with each day.

I think I started clacking at the keyboard, trying to write stories when I was 7. When I was about 13 is when I decided that I was going to become a paid author.

I knew I wanted to write since I was around 9 or 10. Only my grandmother ever made it sound as though this was a viable vocation. With everyone else telling me it's not a "real" job, it took me some time before I realized on my own that I can actually make a career of it.