I believe I was born a writer, but that hasn’t always been a good thing. I’m a good liar. Never, and I repeat never, play Balderdash with me. If my mom is on my team, do yourself a favor and go home. You’ll never make it. Now, that sounds horrible, but let me explain.
I LOVE STORIES.
I always have. I am an only child who grew up around adults more than children. Whenever I wanted kids to pay with, I created them. I imagined them in such great detail that they all became real to me. They were a part of me.
When I was in kindergarten, I was way more socially advanced than my peers. The school was overcrowded. To compensate, a few of us were promoted to first grade. In the first grade, students were already reading, and I had missed a big component of that process. After months of frustration, my mom pulled me out of public school and put me in the private school where she worked. My teacher spent a lot of time helping me with reading, and I quickly caught up to my peers and then surpassed them. By the fourth grade, children’s books were boring, and I skipped to adult books because they were more interesting. It was easier to escape my reality when I read those books.
And that’s what it always came down to; I didn’t understand that at the time. Stories provided an escape for me. Whenever the world got too difficult, I naturally used my imagination as a defense mechanism.
As I grew older and the demands of adulthood took their toll, I forgot what it was like to lose myself in a great story. I would watch movies and TV shows, but there’s something magical about using your brain to create the world painted by the author’s words.
When my life got completely out of control and I needed an escape, I returned to reading. Only this time, I noticed not just the author’s word-paintings but the mechanics of what made a story good. I saw the power of word choice and the flow of action. I wanted to take my imaginary worlds and turn them into sharable stories.
I wanted to be a writer.
I published my first book five years ago, this fall. It’s been an interesting journey, and I’m so glad I’m on it. I’ve learned the mechanics of story craft, and it has only made the stories in my head better. I want to create escapes for other people when they need them most.
And that’s why I write.
Be a luver, y’all
Terri
