The inception of my writing career can be traced back to Mrs. Hanson’s first grade classroom in my tiny Montana prairie town’s K-12 red brick school building. A classmate of mine named Matt—a quiet, tall, and hilarious boy who was not easily impressed (still isn’t)—said to another classmate, Preston, “Oh, Jamie is going to read her story. She always writes good stories,” and then both boys sat up straight and turned their attention toward me.
“They think I write good stories?” I thought to myself. My shoulders pulled my body up into a proud and confident posture. Then I proceeded to read my riveting thriller titled, “A Trip to the Store.”
I still remember the stick-figure illustrations (I am a writer, not an illustrator) of the girl who merely wanted to purchase a gallon of milk—per her parents’ request—for the love! However, a shady vagabond happened to be loitering in the dairy section of the local market, and said vagabond kidnapped the girl. Luckily, the girl was clever and courageous. After being tied to a chair in some dank dark basement, she stealthily escaped using a pair of scissors left very near her chair (dumb vagabond) and the rotary phone on the wall. There is one line from the story I remember verbatim. The last line: “And all that for a gallon of milk.”
Fast forward thirty (thirty plus!) years later. I have been suffering from writer’s block for about seven months. Seven months ago I finished final edits on my most recent memoir, my second book. Since I have written two books, it should be easy for me to write. Right? It should be easy for me to tell people I am a writer.
I will save you the suspense: it is not easy for me. It is not easy for me to claim this “writer” part of my identity. If anything, for some reason it has maybe gotten more difficult. So this is an attempt to practice claiming this passion and sharing it with y’all. As I share, I want to know:
What does this story bring up for you in your life?
What areas in your life give you energy and passion but are difficult for you to share or difficult to prioritize?
What faithful next step might you take to consider sharing more boldly or making more time to pour into what you love?
Please let me know what this stirs up for you!
I am going to end by sharing a quote from my thirteen year-old. (This will give you an idea of what I am up against when it comes to boldly claiming my writing call, and it just makes me laugh.)
“Um, Mom? Autobiographies only do well if the person is already famous.”
Touché, my son, but still I will write!
