Lovin’ It!

When I was a preschooler, I loved sitting on the couch next to my mother and listening to her read stories. (This was long before television and computers and Nintendo.) After hearing them multiple times, I read the stories —word for word—to her. She assured me later that I had memorized them, but not so. I had learned to read them. So began my love of books.

By mid-elementary school, I wrote poetry, which was often published in the weekly bulletin. In high school, I worked on newspapers and started a novel. And I read, read, read everything—Nancy Drew and Beverly Gray mysteries, as well as all kinds of fiction (mostly) from the school library. Visions of writing novels (my version of sugarplums) danced in my head.

Then life interfered under the guise of five children, six step-children, a disabled husband, and a myriad other distractions that put writing—and even reading—on long-term hold. The children grew up. A novel took shape in my head, then a second and a third, etc. The disabled husband remained, so my time was still not my own. Nonetheless, my first book finally went to press (when I was in my mid sixties), and it brought requests from others for help with their books. Writing turned to editing and then to publishing. All that was denied me in what should have been my most productive years blossomed forth from wherever it had lain dormant, and a new creative life began.

The writing evolved into editing, which quickly became a full-time job that took over almost all my writing hours. That eventually evolved into my present career: coaching. Teaching a writer to write well and watching that writer progress from a good storyteller to a fabulous novelist brings rewards far beyond any monetary payment. If someone had given me the tools that I can now give others, I’d like to think that I’d have written several books by now. Even if that weren’t the case, the knowledge would have made the process of what I did write a lot easier. Now it has come full circle—I can write again (aka, finish several novels that are in various stages of development).

And I’m lovin’ it.

Tell me now, what are you lovin’ about reading, writing, etc.?



Linda Lane loves to teach writers how to write well. Visit her website for more information about how she and her team can help you become the writer you want to be. http://www.denvereditor.com/