IWSG: Books That Made Me a Writer

 

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting.

IWSG Optional Question:

What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?

I decided to think about this question and shift it a bit... and then write about:

The Books That Made Me a Writer

My storytelling foundation came from nursery rhymes mixed with C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, Grimm's and Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, dark and luminous in equal measure; and the timeless wisdom of Aesop's Fables. These weren't just stories—they were entire worlds where good and evil battled in forms I could understand, where the smallest creatures could be heroes, and where magic felt as real as breakfast.

Tolkien's The Hobbit opened the door to epic adventure, while both the Children's Bible and the King James Bible introduced me to narratives of eternity.

But storytelling in our family wasn't confined to published books. My grandmother's tales of her own childhood fascinated me, family members recited fairy tales from memory, and the Sesame Street and Disney book clubs brought monthly treasures that expanded my landscape. Stories flowed through our house like water—in books, in voices, and on screen.

Movies added to the well of my imagination. Star Wars: A New Hope, which I saw during its original run, and Disney's animated Peter Pan filled my imagination with lightsabers and pixie dust. I spent countless hours dreaming of flight, of carrying a meaningful sword, of facing down dragons and emerging victorious.

When I began crafting my own stories, the darkness in those early tales found its way to the surface. Inspired by a particularly haunting painting of a conquistador silhouetted against a bonfire, the mysterious hidden attic entrances in our old house, and the shadowy photography darkroom tucked beneath the basement stairs, my first stories I told were horror. I wanted to give my friends just a shiver—but my first successful story worked too well, leaving them sleepless.

Someday, I might rewrite that story and share it with the world. Maybe....

Looking back, I see how these early influences created the DNA of my writing: the blend of wonder and darkness, the belief that small acts can change everything, the conviction that stories matter most when they help us understand what it means to be human. Every book I read, every story I heard, every tale that made me long for wings or weapons—and every shadow-filled corner of my childhood home—became part of the storyteller I am today.

Notes from my podcast

On my podcast last week, I discussed whether or not I will change anything as a writer now that I have a tiny grandson, and while there might be some small shifts, I know the core of my imagination is still rooted in what I read and heard and enjoyed as a child.

On my podcast, I forgot to mentione the first stories I told my grandson, the first songs I sang to him, and the first books I've read to him, which are: the story of David and Goliath told from memory. Psalm 23, from memory. Amazing Grace; Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord; Jesus Loves Me (You/Us), I've God the Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart; Oh, Where is my Hairbrush (blankie); Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?; Guess How Much I Love You, The Gruffalo, and The Mitten. And, of course, his name song... which is essentially a song I make up as I sing to him. Both of my daughters had one of those, too.

 This week, on my podcast I'm discussing legendary objects and why they matter in narratives - not only for fantasy and scifi, but also potentially for mysteries, adventure thrillers, and other stories.

Find those episodes at The Truth About Storytelling.

My Current Projects:

1. A poetry collection with 85-101 poems I'm gathering together, refining, and formatting for a Kickstarter campaign, but I don't have that page up yet.

2. The second and third books of the Dark Blade Trilogy - writing, revising, working...

3. The Rayatana Series - mainly moving this around on my shelves, pulling it down, and writing notes on it at this point, but someday...

4. A pen name projects, possibly to be revealed at some point.