Tuesday, October 26, 2010

My Journey To Writing (and imagination.)

      When I was little my parents didn’t lavish us with excess toys and games much to my chagrin at the time. It wasn’t that we were poor or that they were mean. Certainly we had some dolls and always had a bike. They just didn’t buy us the extras that many of my friends and cousins had like a box full of Barbie dolls and doll houses with furniture etc. The one thing though, that my mom never held back on buying me was books.

      I remember her taking me to the book store many times and telling me that I could buy however many I wanted and that when I was finished with them, she would take me to buy more. It was so exciting to me. I would bring them home like it was Christmas day, eager to get into my precious presents. Fanning the pages of the freshly bound paper in front of my face, I delved in. My favourite kind of books to read were fiction that would transport me to other worlds- a place where things happened that were truly magical and outside of anything that could happen on our earthly planet. I would strain my eyes in the dim nightlight, long after I should be sleeping, sneaking in every word.

      Many times playing with my friends, I remember being the one to make up alternate worlds that were surrounding us and pointing out where such things were and how we could be granted access there. I’ve always had quite the imagination. My cousin had a cabin in the country and she and I would make the woods our own and name parts of it, as though we were native to it. There was a small water fall about an hour’s trek through the woods where we would often picnic. Recently I finished writing a children's fantasy novel. Those woods were a big inspiration and those unforgettable falls play a starring role. 

       My novel is being edited right now, and I'm hoping one day it will be published. I am on that journey now and will be soon sending out the much exasperating query letter. 
  So the question is, how much imagination is innate and how much of it is fostered?  I think I always had a big imagination but by my mother encouraging me to read with her lavish book buying, I believe it allowed my imagination to grow as a seed or a flower that you nurture. So, I thank my mother for that and always will, no matter where my journey may take me.
        I would love to hear your stories on how you started writing-what nurtured it in you? Why you felt the need or desire to write?

15 comments:

  1. Morgan,
    I really enjoyed visiting your site; your "Visual Imagery" is a gift to your readers!
    Morgan writes "....I believe it allowed my imagination to grow as a seed or a flower that you nurture"<-I believe you are right, Morgan!You even have a Yorkie named Bambi! And I a Chi named BB! (= Beautifully done Morgan! @Eric_Halsey

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  2. I've read that children who spend too much time watching TV or playing video games end up with very little imagination, as they grow accustomed to stories being presented to them instead of creating the stories for themselves. This may be true for some, and in those cases, their environment may be to blame. But for me, growing up, I found ideas for stories everywhere -- books, movies, people I met; once I discovered my love of storytelling, my imagination couldn't be quenched. And today, twenty years later, it's still alive and well.

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  3. Thanks Eric, as usual you are too kind to me. Thanks for being you.

    Milo, I think there is some truth to what you say. I limit my son's video game playing and am thankful he reads as well. Thanks for your comment.

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  4. I’ve always enjoyed the otherness of words and imagination. And I began writing for two different reasons – but, not ones I can summarize here and now.

    Great blog, by the way!

    Good luck with getting your novel published.
    The enigmatic, masked blogger

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  5. Thanks for the well wishes! Perhaps you can share the two reasons on your blog sometime. Just a thought.

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  6. ...you've "voiced" a wonderful post, Morgan:)

    Like yourself, I grew up lost in the library, which naturally fueled my own desire to pen stories from an early age...basically as soon as I mastered the art of pushing a pencil.

    Reading the greats travels hand in hand with sharpening one's creative passion for storytelling...as you've described so well.
    Glad I stopped by:)
    EL

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  7. Thank you Elliot, that means a lot. :)

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  8. Perhaps you will find some similarity here:

    http://yiwrite.com/2010/06/its-all-in-how-you-read-it/

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  9. Morgan, Love the story. I wish I read more as a child. I think it opens a persons mind for not only imagination, but for learning in general. Great post!

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  10. What a great tale from you childhood =) Honestly, I didn't read much as a child, but that changed in high school. I think being socially shy, I had to find a way to connect to others, and I found that through books. The best of luck to you on your mission to be published! Can't wait to read your book!

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  11. Thanks Trisha! Crossing my fingers. :)

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  12. Your blog is amazing! I adore the title and all thanks to the blog Me, My Muse and I, I was able to find it!

    I started writing in January of this year along with blogging and haven't stopped yet. I've written three novels and currently working on revising one. Once you open up the writing world it never goes away!

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  13. Thanks Jen! I'm new to this blogging world. You wrote three novels since January?? What? Wow, you're super fast! Good for you. :) I'm gonna check out your blog. Thanks for stopping by.

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