As a child, I would hibernate in "the back room" with a pencil and tablet in hand, or a library book. I made up stories about a little girl named Penny who solved mysteries. I was greatly influenced by what I read... I read all of the Bobbsey Twins books, the Big Red series (about an Irish setter), the Nancy Drew series and many other wonderful books. My parents, especially my father, was a reader. Mother preferred magazines and cookbooks, but my father read classics and thick novels such as those written by Michener. When my brother brought home books from college, my father would read those too. I eventually read them too. When I was in second grade, I was reading Nancy Drew. The first day of third grade, I took home my reader and completed reading it that night and was bored for the rest of the year. By seventh grade, I was reading college level books like Animal Farm, A Nation of Sheep, The Mouse That Roared, 1984 by George Orwell , to name just a few.
During high school, I hibernated with pen and pad also, writing more mysteries or, at least, stories that had big "twists" at the end---surprise endings were my forte. I even wrote a novelette and dared to ask my English teacher to proof-read it for me! She didn't...she had her student teacher do that and so neither of them ever encouraged me to write anything more. It was a spy thriller and she was devoted to "real" literature. The English teacher before her, on the other hand, really encouraged me to be creative and write whatever I wanted. I thank him (Mr. Swales) for all of his encouragement!
Later in my life, I wrote little "slices of life" for a regional magazine and really enjoyed doing that. Life crises interfered with my creative juices for a very long time after that and I could not write anything. Now, the ol' juices are flowing again, though not the same ones. My desire now is to share past experiences with my children and grandchildren so they can get to "know" me. I think that later in time, they will appreciate these blogs I'm into writing now. They are my "legacy" so to speak.
GOOD ADVICE:
Leave your family a legacy---Write down what God has done for you.
Leave money to your church.
