beginnings: 115/365

by | May 7, 2015 | 1 true thing, journeys, my writing | 14 comments

IMG_2985When my youngest was two and I had a little free time, I started thinking about what I wanted to do next. I loved to read. I loved books. I was fascinated by writers and how they did it. They were so cool.

So one day–March 26, 1995–I pulled over to the side of the road and began to write. That year, I had two other moments of free time and wrote. The next year, a moment appeared in February and again I pulled out a piece of paper. Six more times in 1996.

Women was what I was writing about. Different women and their days. Character. No plot. And vastly revised, these pieces turned into my first novel.

In 1997, I found time to write in January, and after that, I made time. 

At some point I took a creative writing class at a community center in Auburn, Alabama. Then in the summer of 1999, I applied to the Napa Valley Writers Conference, where my first writing teacher was Elizabeth McCracken.

~

 365 true things about me
why this daily practice

14 Comments

  1. Marielle Haven
    Marielle Haven on May 7, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    Oh, wow. I love this post. I am inspired by this post. I can relate to your experience. Keep writing . . . .

    Reply
    • cynthia
      cynthia on May 11, 2015 at 6:57 pm

      Marielle, I’m so glad. And thanks for the encouragement : )

      Reply
  2. triciatierney
    triciatierney on May 7, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    Love this snapshot of you becoming a writer. And love that you remember the specifics and to remember where I was too – March 26, 1995 was my birthday, in Zagreb Croatia and pregnant with my daughter.
    Elizabeth McCracken – wonderful writer and of course, twitter-queen. I bet she was a great teacher.

    Reply
    • cynthia
      cynthia on May 11, 2015 at 7:04 pm

      Tricia, I have somehow kept up with that little sticky note… And what are the chances that the first day I wrote was the birthday you were in Croatia pregnant with your now almost twenty-year-old daughter… We are bound together for life : )

      Reply
  3. Sigrun
    Sigrun on May 8, 2015 at 2:56 am

    a memoir … wonderful!

    Reply
        • helena sorensen
          helena sorensen on May 9, 2015 at 5:35 am

          but of course… (lol)
          Mange Tak, Sigrun… 🙂
          pssst… shall now adjust my alignment with all comments

          Reply
          • helena sorensen
            helena sorensen on May 18, 2015 at 4:30 pm

            AND… correct my spelling of your name…
            my sincere apologies… Sigrun xxx

          • cynthia
            cynthia on May 24, 2015 at 9:06 pm

            no problem–I’m sure Sigrun understands–will correct

  4. helena sorensen
    helena sorensen on May 9, 2015 at 5:37 am

    Cynthia… as I commented above… and on a previous post…
    and then? (winkwink)

    Reply
    • cynthia
      cynthia on May 24, 2015 at 9:07 pm

      when that’s what bubbles up, Helena : )

      Reply
  5. cynthia
    cynthia on May 11, 2015 at 7:09 pm

    Thanks, Sigrun and Helena. At not quite a third of the way in, I’m sure I’ll continue. That just seemed a nice place to stop for now.

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Moments #1truething 10/31 | The Frangipani Journals - […] was reading Cynthia’s recent post on how she wrote when “a moment appeared”. I’ve certainly had a lot more…

Leave a Reply