Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive.Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.
The August 3rd question is - What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?
MY ANSWER: I have a lot of writing from when I was young (elementary and middle school age) that is still sitting in a drawer. However, the first piece I wrote that I intentionally wanted published was for my high school newspaper, and I have kept a scrapbook of all of my early articles for school and community publications.
Some people don't understand why I hold on to everything I've ever written. It's simple really:
If you're interested in writing, NEVER throw away anything you create. I wrote a piece for a high school assignment and left it in a drawer. Twenty years later, I had it published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Preteens. Several years ago, I wrote the first draft to a science fiction piece, and this year it was published in the IWSG anthology Parallels. You never know when you'll be able to successfully finish a piece, or when that writing might appeal to an editor. So, hold on to it all. Realize that much of it may never find a home, but sometimes it does - and you'll be proud to have shared a piece of yourself with others.
What was your first piece to write? Do you hold onto all of your writing?
9 comments:
Hi - I'm one of this month's co-hosts and popped by to say hi. I love that you turned one of your high school assignments into a book years later. I've just started seriously writing and am working on my first manuscript, so I don't really have anything to hold onto. But, who knows, ten years from now maybe (hopefully) I'll have a bunch of stuff to look back at. Cheers - Ellen
Agreed - I have a box of all my stories and novels that I still revisit from time-to-time. It's reassuring to see how much my style has evolved, and there are still some ideas there I'd like to revisit.
See, I keep everything, too, but I never get it out later to see if it has an appropriate venue. So you are practical. I'm just a pack rat.
Too true! I hold onto everything too. There have been a couple times I pulled something old out for project.
That's awesome that story was picked for the IWSG Anthology! Hey, my first novel sat around for thirty years before I picked it up again. Glad I kept it.
I worked on my high school newspaper in 10th grade and had a few assigned articles published in it. I kept a couple of them. :)
Good thing you kept your writing! How awesome that it got published in Chicken Soup. Congratulations! I'd carry that around with everywhere and be like, "Hey, look at what book I'm in, I'm sure you've heard of it..." ;)
I have so many partially finished stories lying around, and I keep them all for the same reason. You never know when you might be able to make something wonderful out of them!
I hang onto everything I write, too. As you said, you never know.
Post a Comment