Why I Started Writing

My first venture in writing was in the 7th grade. We were presented with the chance to write and illustrate our own storybook for a contest called The Salisbury Award. This was in 1981, and I’m unable to find any reference to the contest as I write this post. But that contest is what started my love of creating a story that my readers would enjoy.

The name of my story was “City Mouse Goes to the Country”. As the title reflects, it was about a City Bunny who went to the country to visit his cousin, you guessed it, Country Bunny. Now City Bunny was not excited at first to make this trip. He thought he would be bored all summer. But City Bunny was pleasantly surprised once he got there, and Country Bunny introduced him to all the exciting adventures they could have! And, true to the happily ever after endings that I still love to write, City Bunny and Country Bunny became close friends, with City Bunny inviting Country Bunny to visit him in the city the following summer.

            The illustrations of this story were not fit for an art gallery, but I remember spending hours a night after school, carefully drawing each scene. And the cover? Well, it was fashioned from cardboard covered in very fine flannel material to which I glued my title, and my rendering of the story characters and location. 😊 

While this isn’t THE cover I created: that was lost years ago, this is a fair representation of what I had on my cover.

Did I win first prize? Nope! But I won something bigger! The love of writing. The love of crafting stories that bring joy, happiness, and maybe an escape from reality, if even for a short while.

I will always hold this humble piece of memory close to my heart. Though my writing styles, topics, and reasons for writing have shifted over the years. This is where the roots of my writing journey began. It’s the catalyst that lit the fire inside of me.

No matter where your beginning started, if you have the love of writing in your soul, follow it! You won’t regret it!

Happy Writing!

Annie B.