About Me

Friday, October 26, 2012

Recapping my writing life


Decided to take some time today to share how I came to be a writer. I promise this is a rare entry. I don’t intend to bore you each time I write by focusing the spotlight on myself.

Of my many interests, writing is the warp tread in my life's tapestry. Books and reading remain an important part of my life. But, sometimes a bend in the path reveals a brand-new vista.

I sort of entered my writing career by the back door. When our family made its back-to-the-land move over thirty years ago, the growing of herbs caught my interest. As I became more knowledgeable, other people asked my advice. As a means of passing on what I had learned, I self-published a couple booklets on the subject. This led to submitting articles to magazines. The first piece I sold was a definitive 15,000-word brochure on herbs. And just like that, I became a published writer.

My only formal training was a creative writing course taught by Bea Scantlin at Kilgore College. However, I'm a voracious reader and there remains few volumes in the 808. section of the Tyler, Longview, Gilmer or Hawkins libraries I've not read. Used bookstores are also a  favorite haunt, even when I’m on the road, I hunt them out. If I should see a book that interests me on your bookshelf, I won't hesitate to borrow from your personal library.

The ability to read is something I consider a vital function of life. This led to my involvement in an Adult Literacy program where I received training and did volunteering for a time as a tutor. I went on to create an adult literacy program within my community and spent enjoyable hours tutoring others who wanted to know how to read or achieve their GED.

I especially enjoyed writing short stories or essays in the beginning. Poetry-writing has never drawn my interest but sometimes one will come, full-blown, by inspiration. Several of my  short stories are now available in digital format on KindleDirect through Amazon.com.

I’m presently editing a romantic/suspense tentatively entitled The Red Feather and am mid-way in a family saga-type novel about two high schoolers who remain friends throughout their lifetimes despite their opposite personalities and goals in life.

A novelette for young readers about George Washington as a young boy/man still remains tucked away in a drawer. I am drawn to write about ordinary people in a historical setting. Of course, George Washington wasn’t known as an ordinary person, but the period of life I focus on shows how events affected his life’s path.

Troubled Times is about a group of free blacks just previous and into the Civil War period. Twist of Fate records the fictional life of a girl abducted and raised by Native Americans on our Western Frontier in the late 1700s.

My need to write escapes in other ways. I enjoy corresponding with others by email. I presently edit and publish the monthly newsletter for North East Texas Writers Organization, to which I belong. I’ve discovered blogging and post here twice a week as well as submit a posting to Venture Galleries http://venturegalleries.com/author/gayingram/.

Now you know more about me than you really wanted to know.


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