Is there a specific book or author who made you want to be a writer? For many who pursue this path, the answer is yes. Lots of authors today can tell you stories about their yesterdays, days filled with reading other people's words...until soon, those days became filled with writing their own.
And my origin story, like this holiday weekend, begins with V. C. Andrews.
In the Beginning...
I was a bit of a precocious child. I was never much interested in children's books. And besides, I didn't have a whole lot of access to children's books anyway. When I was growing up, I was always the only kid around unless I was in school. Around any of my family members, I was the lone kid.
So it was perfectly natural for me to go off and do things by myself. What, was I going to hang around the adults? No way. And since being by yourself isn't always fun but reading is, I was a reader.
That's how I discovered V.C. Andrews. It was Thanksgiving, and I was 9. Too early, I know, to read V.C. Andrews. Seriously, don't let your young kids read V.C. Andrews because they may turn out like me (and I'm terrible, quite). But I did read it, and it was Flowers in the Attic. And at the end of the first chapter, my mind was made up.
I Showed You Mine...
What inspired you to become an author? Feel free to share your story with me using the comments section. And don't forget to follow me tonight on Twitter, where I'll be live-tweeting the Petals on the Wind movie on Lifetime. It's the sequel to Flowers in the Attic, which of course holds a special place in my heart.
So join me while I point out all the flaws and get very dramatic about it. Petals on the Wind weekend ends tonight, so nab your copy of The Full Deck while you still can!
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Wow, talk about starting out on the wild side! VC Andrews, huh? I guess compared to you, my reading beginnings will seem boring. I attended a private Catholic school with a VERY small library, but I read every single one of the House on the Prairie series before I was 10. I loved horses (what little girl doesn't?) so I also read every one of Walter Farley's Black Stallion series as well.
ReplyDeleteWhen I stumbled across a copy of Elizabeth Goudge's "The Little White Horse," I was at first disappointed, since it didn't seem to be about a horse, really. But by the time I was through, I knew I had to learn to write like Goudge.
Thanks for your thought provoking post, Jade! I'm a follower on Twitter. See you there ;)
I remember the Little House books fondly also. I had a teacher who read the whole series aloud. I'm not familiar with "The Little White Horse" but it sounds interesting! Thanks for your comment!
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