Words' Worth

My life has changed dramatically in the last 3 days.

With the launching of another blog, I realize now that I write most of every day.

The child in me is turning cartwheels. For though I may not be writing novels, and I may not be considered a "writer," I am writing up a veritable storm.

Writing and the reading of it has consumed my entire life. As a young girl, I was in awe of Dr. Seuss. The rhyme, the rhythm, and the silly made-up words delighted me then and continue to delight me now.

After reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  at least 5 times and James and the Giant Peach at least twice (those were the only Roald Dahl books that existed when I was young. Matilda, The BFG, and The Witches came much later), I wanted to write him a letter I loved his books so much. After an unsuccessful search for how to contact him, I decided to settle for naming my first-born son after him.

Growing up, I wrote poems all the time, often putting them inside cards I had made for my family and friends. My Grandpa Edvalson used to write little ditties for everyone in our family on their birthdays, and I often wonder if my penchant for rhyming poetry came from him. When I was in the 9th grade, I wrote and performed a full-length poem in Dr. Suess style for a speech festival called Birds of No Feathers Flock Togethers. I won superior ratings at the district but was unsuccessful in getting it published as a high school senior.

When it came to essays, short stories, and research papers, I was the nerd who actually enjoyed writing them. The ten-page research paper I was required to write on Moby Dick for AP English over the Christmas vacation of my senior year (including the reading of the book--I was a serious procrastinator in those days) literally changed my life. I didn't much enjoy the book please, an entire chapter on the fin and another one on the tail? I'd rather pull my fingernails out, one by one but when I started doing the research for the paper, I started to understand the author's purpose and the genius of it all. The English-teacher-classics-book-lover-studier-of-writing-and-observer-of-the-writing-process in me was born in a big way.

I became a teacher of literature, a reader of everything I could get my hands on, an apprentice of the writing process, and a coach of young blossoming writer minds.

In the meantime, I wrote a book of poetry, I tried my hand at writing an autobiographical novel depicting my life as the daughter of a bipolar father and its aftermath as I became a young wife and mother, and the beginnings of a nonfiction book about what it is like to grow up as a non-Mormon in Utah. None have been published, nor will they be.

And now, as creative editor of a paper crafting magazine and because most business is now conducted via e-mail, I communicate mostly through writing. I send hundreds of e-mails a week, each needing a clear and precise message. I write articles, I write calls for submission, I write marketing material, and now I get to write and host an entire blog.

In addition to this one.

At one point in my life, I talked about writing more than I was actually doing it. One day, my mom took me aside and said, very poignantly, "Catherine, writers write."

So if that's the definition, I guess I'm there. I'm not a published author (except for a few articles in an industry trade magazine), but I'm writing most of every day now, and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity.

Comments

[kellyv]

Hi Cath,
I think that as long as you consider yourself to be a 'writer' (which clearly is justified in your case) then you are, in fact, a writer. Don't look for anyone outside of yourself to offer that label or distinction. You communicate your thoughts by writing them down AND (it is a big one) you have the courage to let others read what you have written. It is similar to those who make art; artists hesitate to claim the distinction and yet, if they feel they are making art then by all means they are entitled.
I am rambling and I should perhaps not be doing so on your blog but I'm just saying...
KellyV

[Sharyn]

I *knew* it had to be you that wrote those calls - they always make me smile! I wanna be you when I grow up

[Lindsay S.]

I really enjoy your writing. I would love to read your book. I am LDS and my husband isn't. We always talk about what life was like for him being labeled a non-member living in Utah. I would love to read your book and hear your story, to better understand my husband's story. Men aren't the best at expressing themselves, you know. Thanks for sharing your passion for writing with everyone.

[Melissa]

So happy for your Cath. You are wonderfully good at communicating and all that you do each day.
Melis

[Kalyn]

Cath, I'm so glad that you're getting to live your dream in a way and write more for work! Your nonfiction ideas sound really really fascinating though and I think you should revisit them sometime. It's never too late! I'm taking a personal essay class right now for creative nonfiction and you could always turn a book-length topic into a shorter personal essay so the task doesn't seem so daunting. Just a thought :) Happy writing!

[susan opel]

Oh, Moby Dick - dreadful! Kudos to you for actually making it all the way through.

And I must say that I admire your moxie penchant for words. It does make for interesting and delightful and oh so insightful blog posts and submission calls!

[Ms. Maxwell]

You've definitely hit your stride, my friend. And I'm dying to see how you treat a meme, Madam Writer, so tag -- you're it.

http://www.schaererville.com/2008/11/and-heres-where-you-get-real-story.html

[Barbara Spencer]

OK Catherine, I think you need to have a shirt made up "I write, therefore, I am", I used to have one that said, no surprise to you, "I ride, therefore I am" We are what our passions take us, sympathy for those with no "passion"

[becky olsen]

Your clarity and humor are always a pleasure to read, and really isn't that what the purpose of writing is?
;)
B-

[Miss Pat]

I must say again, your ability to turn life into literature, just like you do on this blog, keeps me coming back for more. Well, that and the fact that I miss you terribly! And I feel uberfortunate to actually have a copy of your first book...someday you will be famous and I'll be famous by association! Love you Cath!