Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Before I was a writer...


Before I was a writer I never pretended to eat the dog. Um...... maybe I did. Writing can't be blamed for all my craziness. Can it?! Here's a random list of other things that may or may not have happened before I was a writer.
Before I was a writer....
  1. I burnt dinner for all sorts of reasons. But never because there was an amazing scene in my head just begging to be typed.
  2. notebooks were for writing shopping listings and reminders. We had one. Two at the most and they lived on the kitchen bench. Now we have... oh, a million. And they are hiding in every nook and cranny.
  3. Feelings welled up inside me and had nowhere to productive the vent. Journalling is great, but creating a whole world of characters that are held captive in my head and are forced to deal with whatever crap I want to throw at them is pure bliss.
  4. I had a job that paid.
  5. Something gnawed at the back of my mind. Like there was something I had forgotten to do or someone I forgot I wanted to be.
  6. I thought punctuation and grammar were for the weak. Now I appreicate my weakness with punctuation and grammar AND I try my level best to get it right. I'm still trying... I have an editor now. God knows I need one! Thank you, my wonderful sister-in-law.
  7. There was a waste land in my life begging to be filled with words. I breathed, but it was very shallow.
  8. My family were never sure where to find me. Now it's a sure bet that I'll be in front of the computer.
  9. We didn't run out of coffee cups because they were languishing on every possible surface in my office.
  10. My abusive childhood had no way to be seen. My pain had no words and my memories no safe place to express themselves.
Was there life before writing? Hmmm....

14 comments:

  1. LOL I bet lots of people can relate to before I was...I had a job that paid.

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  2. Cute! I love your blog, Tabitha but please, don't eat the poor dog.

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  3. love the post! I don't think there was life before writing. :)

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  4. There are very few of these I don't relate to.
    (especially #2,3, 5, 6,7,8, 9 (tea) and 10.
    ~ Wendy

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  5. I LOVE this post!

    Before I was a writer... Well, I was 22. I graduated college, navigated my first job, and spent all my free time planning my wedding. It was after I got married and settled down that I began writing but I can't remember there ever being a time as an adult that I wasn't writing!

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  6. Before I was a writer I was a writer who didn't know who I was.

    I can't even remember what I did with my time. I THINK I watched a lot of news....

    One interesting note: Before I was a writer I took a hell of a lot more valium.

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  7. Before I considered myself a writer... I was in the third grade. That is when I first put fingers to the keyboard to write "the next great American novel!" because I wanted to. Dad had to sit next to me to help me start. It was about five pages long before I cheated and started another one. But five pages of fiction is a lot for a third grader!
    I never did finish that one. And as I'm sure you expected - it sucked. But I still have it, and the memories of my older, wiser brother, cackling as I read it.
    Sometimes I'm amazed I kept trying. Although I'm not a writer for money yet, and do have a job that pays.

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  8. That was an awesome list! And all so true. Before I was a writer...well, I was a kid, so my entire life was one big adventure. Now I get to create my own adventure. It's great!

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  9. Fantastic list, I pretty much nodded along enthusiastically to all but the last one. To 10 I sort of half nodded. To #4 I looked like a bobblehead doll. I would personally add 'my butt had not spread because I actually got out of the chair every once in a while' haha

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  10. That was a fun post. It's always great to get to know our blogging buddies better. Thanx for sharing! Love the oe about the coffee cups.

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  11. T. Anne- Yeah I agree. I love finding out about other writers too. I probably should have said 'tea cups' as I never drink coffee, but ya get the idea.
    Jenn- yeah, what is up with the butt spread thing??? I wonder if other writers have this problem? :)
    Cindy-I'm all about adventures with writing.
    Melody- Can't believe you wrote that much as a third grader. That's unreal. Proves that we have always been writers hey. It just took me a long while to figure it out :)
    Suzanne- Amen about the valium. I think I'd still be on anti-depressants if not for my writing :)
    Stephanie- thanks for the comments. I hope there is never again a time in my adult life where I forget what writing means to me.

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  12. Wendy- yeah 'tea' for me too. I should have said tea. We just call them coffee cups in our house for some reason.
    Katie- I agree. No life before writing :)
    L.J.- I'll try to remember that. 'Don't eat the dog, Tab. Don't eat the dog' :)
    She is so damned cute though. And plenty naughty as well.
    CJ- I am looking forward to writing that pays, but really, I'd do it anyway. It's like breathing, how can I help it?!

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  13. Hehe...Its a pleasure to be your editor...and your sister-in-law :)

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  14. Hey Andy. Nice to have you on the blog :)
    I think it's a tad ironic that I let my sister- in- law edit me and still love her!
    I do though- love ya that is!
    You have my continued permission to edit me to your heart's content :)
    (I bet you are biting at the bit with all my mistakes on this blog hey)

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