Share the story about how you became an author. Who or what inspired you?
33 thoughts on “READER FRIDAY: Who or What Inspired You to Become a Writer?”
Jordan, thank you so much for asking this question. 🙂
Becoming a reading addict did it for me.
And an immense curiosity whether I could do it to.
It resulted first in blog writing, and then a story kept on coming up again and again. I pushed it away, thinking it was a sad one. Then I found there the following words in the book “Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within” by Natalie Goldberg:
“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.”
These words, and having written a short story with a few other looming in my head, set a bug, which I could not get rid of. So I started writing my first book and with accidentally finding a wonderful cheerleader along the way I finished and self-published it.
And not I am writing my sixth work of fiction and a few non-fiction in progress.
No healing for me here. 😉
I love hearing about the light bulb moment that triggered the passion in writers. For me it was hearing a motivational speaker say he wrote his non-fiction book doing it a page a day. Those who are truly meant to write are moved sometimes by the slightest provocation because, whether we know it or not, we are looking for that nudge that will change our lives. After that it’s a personal journey that’s not easy but fewer still never finish s book. Kudos to you, Victoria. Thanks for sharing your story. Perhaps someone reading your comment will see their own light bulb flick on.
In my early twenties I had a wild live-in boyfriend. Great guy, but not easily tamed. Or should I say trained? Anyway, rather than arguing about something that was bothering me, I started writing children’s stories to make my point, and I’d leave them on the kitchen table for when he walked through the door. Worked like a charm. During those years I must’ve written dozens of stories before I smartened up, but it did lead to me focusing my efforts on my true passion…crime fiction.
Your story cracked me up, Sue. I pictured you with a bull whip, not a children’s story book, but I’m happy for whatever kindled your fire. You’re a talented author, my friend.
Ha! A bull whip would be more accurate for this point in my life. 😀
There’s an entire genre for that, too. ☺
Hahahahahaha!
Jordan, I’d practiced medicine for well over three decades, and had no notion of non-medical writing. But my struggles to craft a book after the death of my first wife led not only to the non-fiction book, The Tender Scar: Life After The Death Of A Spouse, but to my accepting the challenge of a guy named James Scott Bell to try my hand at fiction. Four novels, four years, and forty rejections later, I was on my way. Thanks for asking.
Wow. Sorry for your loss, Richard. I can relate to the cathartic nature of writing through an emotional trauma. Not only did you reach out to help others but you found another avenue to rediscover a new life going forward. A true blessing. Thanks for sharing your touching story.
Doc is really an inspiration for writers out there who might be thinking it’s “too late” to start. Start!
What? Me worry?
I ran out of room on my walls for needlepoint and had to find another creative outlet. Actually, it was all a mistake triggered by a visit from my son. For anyone who wants the unabridged version, it’s here: http://terryodell.com/extras/how-i-became-a-writer-by-mistake/
Whatever brought your talent to the writing community, I’m happy, Terry.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Franklin W. Dixon (all of them)
Classics Illustrated comic books
Mad magazine
What…me worry?
Well, there was this junior college (they called it in those days) English instructor who told me that, although I did have a gift for gab, I’d never be a writer.
Every day and in every way, I prove what a fool she was.
The BEST revenge, Jim. I love it.
Miss Gentry, my eighth grade teacher.
I was floundering in school in those days and she was very kind to me. We had to write short stories in her class. Mine was called “The Transformation of Robbie.” I don’t remember what it was about, except it was set in London because I was obsessed with The Beatles. I got an A on it and she told me, “You should be a writer.”
I dedicated my first book to her. I also tracked her down after she retired and wrote her a letter to thank her. So glad I did, as she died soon after.
I tracked down a beloved teacher of mine, who inspired me. She was moved to tears. I’m so glad you connected in such a wonderful way with your teacher, Kris.
I grew up in a tiny, remote town in California’s Sierra mountains and attended a one room school with my mother as the only teacher. The weekly arrival of books from the county’s library system was the highlight for me. Between reading mostly boys’ fiction and my imagination, the seed was planted. I’ve made a career out of writing with at least 50 fiction books/novellas published and no way to quit because I have no other marketable skills.
Even more to the point, I was deeply influenced by my grandfather Homer Eon Flindt who wrote for the pulp magazines as Flint before he was murdered when my mother was six. I felt honored to have his published and unpublished material in my possession and to have written his biography. Grandfather Lost has been e-published along with all of his work. I also turned much of my collection over to the University of Kansas’ research library.
Sorry to hear about your grandfather, Vella. Sounds like a real mystery.
Photography. I learned to tell stories with my pictures. Then my stories took over and were too complicated, so I had to write them down. My inspirations were Patricia Highsmith, Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich, and a library full of science fictions books. Mysterythrillersuspense in the dark caught my attention. Recently, I’ve discovered to joy of lighter fare. I’m trying my hand at romantic suspense. I’m enjoying reading Sandra Brown, Liz Jackson, and JD Robb.
Good authors for romantic suspense, Brian. You might also try Linda Castillo and her first Kate Burkholder Amish murder series debut. Wonderful writing.
Will do.
My folks were my inspiration. My dad was the best storyteller I’ve ever known. (No surprise there. Bet a lot of people are saying that.) He had a bedtime story for us every night. When each of his eight kids turned five he sat us on his lap and taught us to read phonetically. We couldn’t wait to get up to complete the lessons, because then we’d get our very own library card. He and mom made regular library trips a part of the schedule. When I was seven I got the mumps and had to sit quietly on the sofa all day for a week. Mom got me interested in reading the encyclopedia and I acquired a rather wide ranging, eclectic collection of facts that made me an oddity among second graders. I’m a pretty good storyteller (amateur actor) but a few years before dad died I was listening to him tell a story and was shocked to realize that everything in my raconteur arsenal – inflections, voice, even hand gestures – I’d gotten from him. But he was better at it.
No real surpise, right? You tell kids and show them that something is important, you raise them to value it, and they pick it up.
I love this, John. Brings back memories of my family. Thanks for sharing.
My mother taught me to read at a very early age, well before schools caught me. And I fell into reading like a coke addict into snow. By the time I was in college, I wanted desperately to be able to write in such a way that others would fall into the story and never rise to the surface until ‘The End’. The older I get and the more I write, the harder it is to achieve that total immersion in someone’s work, but when it happens, it’s profound. And that’s what keeps my nose to the screen.
Keep striving for the best you that you can be. You’re an inspiration, Stephen.
Beany Malone books.
Reading is a wonderful trigger. It opens the mind to possibility.
I was bored, and the voices in my head got really loud, then I met Berthold and his brothers, and here I am.
You’re never alone, Basil.
Isaac Asimov
Ray Bradbury
Richard Brautigan
Dr. Seuss
And my dad, who, though an aviator by paycheck, always had something in the works~ poetry, short stories, magazine articles, at least two finished novels and a huge historical novel-in-progress (I’m still sorting through boxes of research I’d like to organize and finish for him).
And like like Mr. Bell, the Gospel According to Alfred E. Newman (MAD Magazine)
Jordan, thank you so much for asking this question. 🙂
Becoming a reading addict did it for me.
And an immense curiosity whether I could do it to.
It resulted first in blog writing, and then a story kept on coming up again and again. I pushed it away, thinking it was a sad one. Then I found there the following words in the book “Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within” by Natalie Goldberg:
“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.”
These words, and having written a short story with a few other looming in my head, set a bug, which I could not get rid of. So I started writing my first book and with accidentally finding a wonderful cheerleader along the way I finished and self-published it.
And not I am writing my sixth work of fiction and a few non-fiction in progress.
No healing for me here. 😉
I love hearing about the light bulb moment that triggered the passion in writers. For me it was hearing a motivational speaker say he wrote his non-fiction book doing it a page a day. Those who are truly meant to write are moved sometimes by the slightest provocation because, whether we know it or not, we are looking for that nudge that will change our lives. After that it’s a personal journey that’s not easy but fewer still never finish s book. Kudos to you, Victoria. Thanks for sharing your story. Perhaps someone reading your comment will see their own light bulb flick on.
In my early twenties I had a wild live-in boyfriend. Great guy, but not easily tamed. Or should I say trained? Anyway, rather than arguing about something that was bothering me, I started writing children’s stories to make my point, and I’d leave them on the kitchen table for when he walked through the door. Worked like a charm. During those years I must’ve written dozens of stories before I smartened up, but it did lead to me focusing my efforts on my true passion…crime fiction.
Your story cracked me up, Sue. I pictured you with a bull whip, not a children’s story book, but I’m happy for whatever kindled your fire. You’re a talented author, my friend.
Ha! A bull whip would be more accurate for this point in my life. 😀
There’s an entire genre for that, too. ☺
Hahahahahaha!
Jordan, I’d practiced medicine for well over three decades, and had no notion of non-medical writing. But my struggles to craft a book after the death of my first wife led not only to the non-fiction book, The Tender Scar: Life After The Death Of A Spouse, but to my accepting the challenge of a guy named James Scott Bell to try my hand at fiction. Four novels, four years, and forty rejections later, I was on my way. Thanks for asking.
Wow. Sorry for your loss, Richard. I can relate to the cathartic nature of writing through an emotional trauma. Not only did you reach out to help others but you found another avenue to rediscover a new life going forward. A true blessing. Thanks for sharing your touching story.
Doc is really an inspiration for writers out there who might be thinking it’s “too late” to start. Start!
What? Me worry?
I ran out of room on my walls for needlepoint and had to find another creative outlet. Actually, it was all a mistake triggered by a visit from my son. For anyone who wants the unabridged version, it’s here: http://terryodell.com/extras/how-i-became-a-writer-by-mistake/
Whatever brought your talent to the writing community, I’m happy, Terry.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Franklin W. Dixon (all of them)
Classics Illustrated comic books
Mad magazine
What…me worry?
Well, there was this junior college (they called it in those days) English instructor who told me that, although I did have a gift for gab, I’d never be a writer.
Every day and in every way, I prove what a fool she was.
The BEST revenge, Jim. I love it.
Miss Gentry, my eighth grade teacher.
I was floundering in school in those days and she was very kind to me. We had to write short stories in her class. Mine was called “The Transformation of Robbie.” I don’t remember what it was about, except it was set in London because I was obsessed with The Beatles. I got an A on it and she told me, “You should be a writer.”
I dedicated my first book to her. I also tracked her down after she retired and wrote her a letter to thank her. So glad I did, as she died soon after.
I tracked down a beloved teacher of mine, who inspired me. She was moved to tears. I’m so glad you connected in such a wonderful way with your teacher, Kris.
I grew up in a tiny, remote town in California’s Sierra mountains and attended a one room school with my mother as the only teacher. The weekly arrival of books from the county’s library system was the highlight for me. Between reading mostly boys’ fiction and my imagination, the seed was planted. I’ve made a career out of writing with at least 50 fiction books/novellas published and no way to quit because I have no other marketable skills.
Even more to the point, I was deeply influenced by my grandfather Homer Eon Flindt who wrote for the pulp magazines as Flint before he was murdered when my mother was six. I felt honored to have his published and unpublished material in my possession and to have written his biography. Grandfather Lost has been e-published along with all of his work. I also turned much of my collection over to the University of Kansas’ research library.
Sorry to hear about your grandfather, Vella. Sounds like a real mystery.
Photography. I learned to tell stories with my pictures. Then my stories took over and were too complicated, so I had to write them down. My inspirations were Patricia Highsmith, Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich, and a library full of science fictions books. Mysterythrillersuspense in the dark caught my attention. Recently, I’ve discovered to joy of lighter fare. I’m trying my hand at romantic suspense. I’m enjoying reading Sandra Brown, Liz Jackson, and JD Robb.
Good authors for romantic suspense, Brian. You might also try Linda Castillo and her first Kate Burkholder Amish murder series debut. Wonderful writing.
Will do.
My folks were my inspiration. My dad was the best storyteller I’ve ever known. (No surprise there. Bet a lot of people are saying that.) He had a bedtime story for us every night. When each of his eight kids turned five he sat us on his lap and taught us to read phonetically. We couldn’t wait to get up to complete the lessons, because then we’d get our very own library card. He and mom made regular library trips a part of the schedule. When I was seven I got the mumps and had to sit quietly on the sofa all day for a week. Mom got me interested in reading the encyclopedia and I acquired a rather wide ranging, eclectic collection of facts that made me an oddity among second graders. I’m a pretty good storyteller (amateur actor) but a few years before dad died I was listening to him tell a story and was shocked to realize that everything in my raconteur arsenal – inflections, voice, even hand gestures – I’d gotten from him. But he was better at it.
No real surpise, right? You tell kids and show them that something is important, you raise them to value it, and they pick it up.
I love this, John. Brings back memories of my family. Thanks for sharing.
My mother taught me to read at a very early age, well before schools caught me. And I fell into reading like a coke addict into snow. By the time I was in college, I wanted desperately to be able to write in such a way that others would fall into the story and never rise to the surface until ‘The End’. The older I get and the more I write, the harder it is to achieve that total immersion in someone’s work, but when it happens, it’s profound. And that’s what keeps my nose to the screen.
Keep striving for the best you that you can be. You’re an inspiration, Stephen.
Beany Malone books.
Reading is a wonderful trigger. It opens the mind to possibility.
I was bored, and the voices in my head got really loud, then I met Berthold and his brothers, and here I am.
You’re never alone, Basil.
Isaac Asimov
Ray Bradbury
Richard Brautigan
Dr. Seuss
And my dad, who, though an aviator by paycheck, always had something in the works~ poetry, short stories, magazine articles, at least two finished novels and a huge historical novel-in-progress (I’m still sorting through boxes of research I’d like to organize and finish for him).
And like like Mr. Bell, the Gospel According to Alfred E. Newman (MAD Magazine)