My Life as a Writer: A Brief Memoir
Writing is said to be a journey. According to Nissan, life is also a journey and we must enjoy the ride. It’s not so much about where you are going but how you get there. If this is true, then my journey is certainly not over but I have done my best to enjoy the ride. I really feel that’s the thrill of it all. Enjoy your writing and don’t worry so much about where it will lead you. My journey started long ago.
The first memories I have of writing are when I was around 7 years old. I was fascinated with fighter jets and movies like “Top Gun” and “Iron Eagle” and wanted to write my own. I came up with
various scenes that I pictured and put them to paper. None of these were ever finished but I enjoyed the process and hoped that someday I would have an epiphany and write the most amazing screenplay ever.
Needless to say, it didn’t happen but it started the process of writing for me. I was always bored with “Bob plays with his dog” and “Spot sat down.”
The next couple of years continued to develop more interesting screenplays and some various short stories but nothing great to speak of. Soon enough, along came fourth grade. The time spent in Mr. Skinner’s class was the defining time period in my development as a writer. It was an experimental class designed for 4th and 5th graders to be in the same class, allowing those 4th graders that were capable of forging ahead in their development to do so.
At the beginning of each day, we had a block of time designated for writing short stories, followed by a period of time to share them with the class. At the 4th and 5th grade level, these were
usually one or two page stories about the princess who gets saved or the famous Spiderman thwarting criminals and other typical concoctions of the child’s imagination. Mine, however, were just a little bit
different. Usually my process involved writing about current events, though I wouldn’t choose the boring ones like the new monument being displayed by the capitol. I would choose ones that interested me
as a GI-Joe loving boy. There was perhaps a little embellishing that went on, but they were all based on stories I saw on the news.
I remember one particular story that really changed the direction I went in as a writer. I had seen a news clip about a man who had been driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. He
had been involved in a police chase and was armed with a firearm. I won’t go into too much detail but he opened fire on some of the officers, killing some and wounding others. He was eventually gunned
down. My story was very graphic and was embellished for interest. It was my turn to share my story with the class. Later that day, my mother appeared in my classroom and I got to sit while she talked to
my teacher about some things and I got a scolding for writing such things.
The next time it was time to write, I decided I wasn’t going to share my stories anymore. I decided that I would write a very long story and if I was asked to call upon to share it, I would just
reply that it is not yet finished. As long as I was writing during the times I was supposed to, I wasn’t required to have a finished product to share. I started weaving a tapestry that would affect my status as
a writer forever.
I wasn’t called upon to read for the next few days but, sure enough, several days thereafter, it was my turn to share my story. As I wasn’t finished, I wasn’t required to share it. My story was entitled
The Adventures of Tracy the Pirate. I know it’s not the greatest or most creative title but for a 4th grader, I guess it wasn’t too bad. The story ended up being well over 200 pages long.
It started to keep me out of trouble but, as it developed, I started to enjoy writing it. I couldn’t wait to see what creative twist I could come up with next. It was so amazing to watch this creation of
mine come to life. I could see the characters developing their own personalities. It was great!
The story was set in the 1500s and the basic plot was about the life of a man, named Tracy, who grew up in a broken home in a port town in southern France. His father was a drunkard and a pirate
that had abandoned Tracy and his mother at a young age. Things were very tight financially and, eventually, Tracy left home at age 15 with aspirations to become a sailor and provide better for his
mother.
He joined the crew of a ship and eventually worked his way to a captain with the company. At some point, he was overtaken by pirates and with his charm was able to convince them to spare him
and he would join them as a captain of a second ship. With most of his crew dead, Tracy turned to a seedy port and acquired the services of able-bodied men with no aversion to piracy. Tracy had much
success and soon became a feared pirate. He eventually betrayed his friends and gained full control of the piracy operation.
Throughout the novel, he was plagued with guilt, remorse, and a desire to do the right thing. Several times he attempted to go straight but the allure of piracy was always there in his face and he
would return to it time and again. He stashed his plunders on an island similar to that of the Isle de Muerta in “Pirates of the Carribean”, only this was a decade prior to that film. The basic principal was
that you couldn’t find it unless you knew how to find it already.
At the end of the novel, I was so enthralled in the writing process that I almost didn’t want to finish. It gave me much pleasure to do the actual writing and I didn’t want to stop to allow anyone to
read it. Hence, in the end, there was a terrible battle and it was left up to the reader to decide whether or not Tracy had been killed or if he survived, allowing for a sequel if I so chose to write one.
I at one time had a sequel about 40% complete, however, I eventually decided that the original content of the first book was best left by itself. The sequel was consequently scrapped. Unfortunately,
I have since lost the manuscript to the original novel, but I do remember the process of writing it and I keep it with me to this day.
That book has forever shaped my life as a writer, not because of the content, but because of the priceless things I learned while writing it. I learned much about keeping the reader’s attention. Perhaps
most importantly, I learned how to let the creative sub-conscious just take over and pour ideas onto the paper without thought. It didn’t matter where the story went so long as it was something I was pleased
with in the end and got the point across that Tracy had many adventures.
I have since written many stories, essays, term papers, letters, songs, and other useful things but I can trace them all back to the period of time that I spent writing my first novel in 4th grade. The
process of writing it is what it all traces back to. The book doesn’t matter. It was just the destination of that particular journey. The true gem or diamond in the rough was found within the writing process,
that ride that started out as a shield but that I later learned to enjoy so much. That’s what the journey is all about and I’m who I am today because of it.
