Writing

As a kid, 9 to 13 or so, I wrote a lot. I usually had a pen and paper on me and I’d write down stories or ideas as they came to me. I found it soothing, I’d keep the little slips of paper for a while and then lose track of them, like leaves in fall.

I enjoyed writing because I enjoyed reading. I liked the thought that I, just a little kid, could create ideas and story in someone else’s head. That I would think something up and they would hear it and make it part of them, even if just for a few moments.

When I was 10, I stayed with my Aunt Mary in Winnipeg for a few months. The swim team I was on was excellent, my coach one of the people that made a huge impact on me in a very short time, even saved my life once, seriously. One of the excellent things that happened while I was on this team was I qualified to be invited to an international swim meet being held in Edmonton. It was an adventure and I was going because of something I could do. No one else could take credit for this adventure. It was exhilarating.

There were lots of ‘older kids’ on the trip from my team, sixteen and seventeen years old, confident and excited. For younger kids there was only me and another girl, a sometimes friend, we were both 10.

On the flight from Winnipeg to Edmonton I started writing out a little story that popped into my head. At some point, one of the older kids must have noticed me and have asked me about it because soon there were quite a few of the older kids around, asking me about the story. I remember realizing with surprise and even confusion that they weren’t humouring me, they were actually interested. They could do whatever they wanted on the plane, no one was making them listen to some little kid’s weird story. It was thrilling. I felt like I had a voice, or rather like I was being heard. My head buzzed from the experience for days.

During the week or so we were at the meet the older kids would ask me if I had any more story, asking about characters, what was going to happen next. I would tell them what updates I had, fill them in on changes I’d decided to make to the story thus far.

I did well at the swim meet, but what really changed me was the feeling of pulling other people into an idea I’d made.

This is all by way of saying, I’m putting a concerned effort into writing more. Realizing I still have things to say, and remembering that I write them down not for attention, but for connection.