How I Became a Writer- Part 4

 I've actually gotten a few requests to talk more about how I got here as a writer, which does my massive ego some good. It's a good idea to reflect on things like this. Most writers are made, not born, and I'm no exception. 

The very first person to teach me anything about grammar was (I may have said this before, but bear with me) my mom, Betty. She went to school in a two-room schoolhouse but by golly, they taught her the fundamentals! She was the grammar police before you had ever heard the term. And being old school, she had no qualms about correcting me. 

Then along came ABC's "Schoolhouse Rock" series. "Conjunction junction, what's your function?" or "A noun is a person, place or thing," or "I unpacked my adjectives," they all made learning fun. And mildly addictive, since I can still sing more of them than I care to admit. I'll bet most folks in their 50s can, but I digress. In an era before cable TV and the internet, the folks at ABC actually had some corporate responsibility and created this series that helped kids learn. God bless 'em.

I pity English teachers today. Not as much as Social Studies/American Government teachers, but still, they have a tough job. I was fortunate to go through the Minnetonka Schools, which are among MN's best. My English teachers taught me all the fundamentals and thensome. I had one teacher, to remain nameless, who insisted that we couldn't say things like "I think" in an essay. "I think" is wishy-washy! Instead of saying "I think the Twins are terrible this year," say "The Twins are terrible this year." It's stronger writing. That idea comes in handy as a writer.

College was, for the most part, volumes of writing. Mostly technical, because, well, college. I got a B+ in my one creative writing class, mainly because I didn't and still don't grasp poetry. My graduate school days made me even better. A combination of volume and professors who pushed hard helped.

I spent the next thirty years doing technical writing. Government assessments and grants, operations manuals, or business plans, I was your guy. I wrote about this before, but while helpful, technical writing is BORING. Ugh. But, there was some benefit in learning what to keep in and what to leave out. And, I *may* have done some creative writing with some of my documentation. 

Then I took up creative writing four years ago. I have learned more than I ever imagined was possible. I never knew what all went into writing a book! My goodness, I have come to believe that writing was easier when I didn't know anything about it. When I started, I just wrote. Now I have to think about character arcs and inciting incidents. 

Good or bad, the art of writing is difficult. It's given me a whole new respect for artists of any medium, but especially authors. Kudos to any and everyone who writes!