First 15 years of writing

Typewriter (Photo credit: iandavid)

Here are some things I did in the first 15 years of writing, starting when I was 15:

1. Kept a journal and wrote whenever possible, ideas, sermon notes, observations from Bible reading or prayers, funny stories.
2. In 1990 I started a list of good stories.
3. Got a degree in print journalism because I wanted to write.
4. While doing that I wrote, working for the school newspaper, alumni office, public relations offices of my school.
5. Edited the school newspaper my senior year of college.
6. Wrote umpteen papers in grad school.
7. Wrote letters, newsletters for various organizations, volunteered to write things for people, did resumes for people, wrote family stories and collaborated on a family book.
8. Read good books and took note of what good writing is like, how I felt when I read it, the mechanics of making it happen.
9. I met and stayed in touch with good people who write.
10. I wrote when I didn’t feel like writing, but I wrote.

That briefly covers the first 15 years of my writing life, and I haven’t gotten to actually publishing a magazine article, book, or anything more public than a few hundred people. Next post I’ll tell you about the next 15 years.