*Complete with passages from my earliest writings!
Ever since I can remember, reading and writing have been an escape and a passion for me.
As a kid, our family went through some rough times (as all families do I suppose). It was a confusing and stressful time for me. The way I coped was reading. I realized a good book could transport me to new worlds and into exciting adventures. I gobbled up Will Hobbs and a variety of other books. I’d read for hours on end. I was a slow but steady reader and remain so today.
I also began to develop an interest in writing as I got a little older. I particularly loved poetry. Whenever I had a bad day, I’d channel it into writing a poem. Some of these poems I’m pretty proud of. Others are downright embarrassing…
For example after getting in a fight with my parents and having a CD forever taken away, I decided it was probably a good idea to write a poem about why I liked a CD more than my parents. I mean that is some high-quality poetry right there (*sarcasm*).
Here is a snippet of the worst poem I’ve probably ever written (notice I even used the wrong where) with a really astute comment that I wrote later on:
A CD is a great thing
It never yells at you
It doesn’t care how you look
Or what you where
It just plays
****Unless you don’t have batteries
I also started writing novels. My first novel attempt was before high school and was about horses (no surprise there!). Here is a very quick snippet:
A great stallion suddenly galloped to the front of the herd then gave a soft whinny. The herd stopped. The stallion’s powerful body stood out from the rest. He was a leader; his black body seemed unearthly as steam rose off of his flanks and into the starry night. The stallion shook his mighty head and his eyes glowed with the passion of life.
As you can tell, I was really big on description!
As I’ve gotten older I still write and read just as avidly. If I’m stressed it is almost always a good novel that I’ll turn to. Or I’ll write. I’ll write a novel to transport me to a world of my creation or I’ll channel whatever emotion I’m feeling into a poem. (For an example of a more recent poem click here). (For an example of a recent short story that I quickly wrote click here).
I also just really love writing and reading. In my mind, writing is painting a story through words, which is an amazing feat! You are making the nonexistent real for the reader! It is something I’ve always wanted to be good at. One of my greatest goals to this day is to be able to write well enough that I can enthrall readers into a rich tale, just like so many books did for me over the years!
Brooke M. Fowler 