“Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were
Flopsy,
Mopsy,
Cotton-tail,
and Peter.”
So begins “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.” So begins “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.” When you were a child, did your parents read those words to you? Mine did. And I read them to my children. Although, as they grew older, we donated most of my children’s books to various organizations — several boxes of “Goosebumps” stories went to our local elementary school, for example — there were a few that I simply could not part with. And our six-volume set of Beatrix Potter’s most popular stories was remains on the bookshelf.
I recently watched “Miss Potter” again. The 2006 film tells the story of Beatrix Potter’s refusal to conform to late-Victorian societal norms and determination to see her stories about her animal “friends,” as she called them, published. She was a naturally gifted artist who, as a solitary child, escaped into her own imagination, developing the characters and storylines that would ultimately make her the most popular children’s author of all-time. It is a charming movie featuring exceptional performances by Renee Zellweger, Ewan MacGregor, and Emily Watson.
Potter was a story-teller and artist from early childhood who struggled from her early 20’s until the age of 36 to get her first book published. In 1902, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” defied publishers’ expectations and secured Potter’s legacy.
Beatrix Potter found her calling as a young girl and channeled her interest in natural history, mycology, archeology, fossils and farming into her delightful stories about Benjamin Bunny, Samuel Whiskers, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mr. Tod, and all the rest. She had to draw — and write.
Watching “Miss Potter” again caused me to ponder the point in my own life that I knew I was a writer and would continue to write throughout my life. I realized, not all that surprisingly, that I have self-identified as a writer my entire life. I literally cannot remember a time when I did not enjoy writing or feel compelled to write, although my writing has taken many different forms over the years.
When did you know you were a writer? Was there a moment or period in your life when you realized that you were meant to write? Did a specific event or occurrence compel you to write? Or, like me, have you just always considered yourself a writer? Leave a comment or a link should you decide to write about this topic on your own site.
18 Comments
Great thoughts! I kind of feel like part of me was always wanting to be a writer, the way I jotted notes on anything I thought “would make a cool story” and then a couple years ago, I became a lot more serious about pursuing it as a career.
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I think I knew I was a writer when I wrote a poem in ninth grade for English class. We had to describe a photo of a junkyard car. I wrote a story about a mother snake who lived in it. I think that’s when I knew writing inspired me. I just didn’t do anything with it for 20 years.
Great post!
Kelly @ Pass the Torchs last blog post..Passing the Torch with Writing
I don’t think that i am skill enough to become a writer. I started as bloggers, post my own articles, just for fun at first. Till my blog got readers, and more readers. I still don’t think i’m a writer because I only wrote about myself.
I have always been an avid reader, but never thought of myself as a writer until about 4 years ago. My girls’ school was shaken up in a bad way by a school board unwilling to listen to reason and I started writing letters to the editor in the local paper in an effort to try and shed light on the dishonesty that was taking place. I found I enjoyed making my points with words. What I enjoy most about writing-is the ability to edit and re-work over and over until your satisfied with it.
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Nice one.
It is always enjoyable (and easier) to just read other people’s posts. However, there is definitely some satisfaction gained from contributing content to an online community.
I have known it way before I know how to write. Ok, thats joke. I write when I was 12 and since then I have been writing non-stop.
good article you have there. kind of informative and very useful. hope to see more in the future.
I think it’s all started when I have my own blogs. Posting articles on everything related to me, then when i get some readers, i think that makes me a writer..hehe
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I know that feeling of not being able to part with favorite books, i am guilty of being unable to part with ANY books, because they tend to become friends after a while dont they?
Well.. Just as long as you could make blog posts that could entertain the masses I guess you’re a writer. =D Well writers could start small. =P
I thought i was a writer, until i started writing. Then i realised i’m just a scribbler :P. Cant never find myself completing a proper article. Even if i somehow managed too, i am never satisfied with it.
I started writing for fun when I was in highschool. One of my teachers read my journal article and inspired me to write full time!
always love writing and putting down stories and ideas into words. but then only i notice that i couldnt picture the perfect story or idea that i written. guess i need more practice.
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Up until now, I still don’t know that I should be a writer or not.
I like some story but i think i cant be a writer since it need a lot planning before u write something…
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Writing is something that I couldn’t have imagined doing when I was in college. I was mostly into cooking. But since I got married and realized how important my family is to me, I began to write small articles about my family problems and how my husband and I resolved them. From then on, I was inspired by other family’s issues and tried to make stories out of these issues. So I must thank my husband and children, if not for them, I would never be as interested in creative writing as I am now. There is many things I have to learn but I am willing to. I write stories for fun so there isn’t any pressure down the road for me.
Sherry Love
http://sherrylove.net
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PS: Thank you for visiting my blog and welcome me into your Special Memorial Day Edition of the Carnival of Family Life at Colloquium!. I would come by and check out the articles.
PPS: I have added your site to my blog buddies. I would appreciate it if you can give me a link too. Thanks in advance.
Sherry Love
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In my case the writing started with a certain level of knowledge. When I realized that there are other people who might benefit from my knowledge i wanted to share it. And so I began to write about the subject (in my case sports).