One day, I walked into the house and announced to my mother that I wanted to be a writer. This happened after I read a story that I wrote for my Creative Writing class when I was in the 8th grade. My story was the only story that the entire class, including the teacher listened when I shared it to class, as was part of the assignment.
I have always liked to write stories. Ever since I can remember, I have written stories. Even when I wrote poems, they ended up being epic poems that told a story in some way. I am not sure how this storytelling gift came about because I am not good at telling stories verbally, but when I write them, they become great.
I discovered the writing genre called “Life Writing” while I was in college for my Master’s degree, years after I had been writing in my storytelling style. It was for an assignment for an English class. I still do not remember what the assignment was, but I remember reading about Life Writing. Life Writing is recording one’s story, memories, experiences, etc. through autobiographies, biographies, diaries, memoirs, letters, personal essays, blogging, emailing, vlogging, etc. It is a way to keep track of your life.
I discovered what I would come to know as Life Writing, when I was a young girl by watching my grandmother write in her diary. I did not know that this simple act would propel me into my career field of writing. I saw Grandma’s Hands write in her little book, and share something about her day. Shortly after that, I began keeping a diary, writing random thoughts, things about my day, stories ideas, and things I wanted to write about later. It was fun.
I developed my skill of Life Writing by writing stories about people, and things that happened in their life. As I think back to the many stories and poems I have written, I made up lots of stories about imaginary people’s lives. That has been my writing style ever since the 8th grade.
I wrote a short story for my Short Story Writing class while in my Master’s degree program. My professor said it was a great slice of life story. At that moment, my career as a Life Writer was reinforced. I discovered how I could bless the world with my talent, fully. I would share a message of hope and redemption through sharing the life stories of the imaginary people I make up.
