What was I thinking?? Become an Author?

Yes, I decided to become an author. Now what’s next? Coming up with an idea for a novel. I mean, I have to write about something, otherwise why would I call myself an author?

I’m a daydreamer, so I used that super power to turn the rusted old gerbil wheel in the deepest part of my mind. Yes, my spirit animal, Pickles, was still on it. She’s a tad bit overweight and her black fur has started to show signs of graying, though. So respect the gerbil, people!

In my home, there are many lovely paintings. It’s from these which I drew my inspiration. For once, I took a good look and let myself wonder. Where is this place? Who lives there? What’s happening to those people? As I considered the stories from the pictures on the walls, I found that my interest was in fantasy. Excitement that I could create a world of my own and the drama between characters encouraged me to dive right in. 

However, I recalled the difficulties I had writing in high school. Many times, I was told that my essays weren’t clear. Red ink would bleed across the pages. Fifty years later, I’ve worked hard to push out that creeping fear of failure. Someone once told me to write what I’d like to read, and that’s what I’m going to do.  

Over time, I’ve learned that there are two types of writers, plotters and pantsers. Plotters will write out a detailed outline for the chapters within a book while pantsers just start writing. To me, it seemed the pantsers had the more difficult job. They’d just begin writing. Some would continue on and not look back, while others might stop and edit what they’ve written before moving forward. So, who did Pickles and I choose to be like? Yes, she lowers her head, a pantser. However, I believe over time that I’ll learn to incorporate a bit more plotting into my style.  

During my exploration of dabbling in the world of writing, my co-worker asked me to write a folktale as an example for the students in our classes who would soon be creating one of their own. I still remember that day. A wonderful woman with over thirty years teaching experience in the English classroom. 

Smiling politely, I said, Sure! No problem! Inside, I was dying. Write a what? Folk something or other? My insides shivered. The Google became my best friend that day as I typed in the question about the requirements for a story to be considered a folktale. 

Now Pickles, I really needed you on that day, and where were you? Probably munching on a peanut and flicking through TikTok.

For the folktale, I discovered that to fall into this category, one rule was you had to answer a question. I chose Cuba as the scene of this story and surfed the web for interesting facts about the island. On one of the many pages I scanned, I saw that someone had written, why does the island of Cuba look like a sleeping crocodile? 

In that instant, a white light flashed across my mind, and I knew the entire story. I know. I know. Too incredible to be true. No, I’m not making this up! In about an hour, I’d written the entire story. Then the harder part became that I had to make illustrations for it. Me draw? No way! Online images, color printer, and scissors. Where are you when I need you? Oops! Yeah, you’re all in front of me. Let’s do this!