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What is your earliest writing memory?

I’ve started asking myself questions for my R.A.Q page. I asked myself about my earliest writing memory. Here it is:

1. What is your earliest writing memory?

I remember back to first or second class. My teacher, she asked us to write a story. I selected my narrator, she was a little Australian girl, a real Australian, with a real broad Aussie accent. In the story she was happy about going to school. My story went something like this:

Hi. Me name is Tracy and I’m five years old. I live with me father and me mother. We have a house and a dog. Each morning I go to school. I pack me bag with me books and me lunch. I love school. Me teacher is pretty.

I was very proud as I delivered this story to my teacher. I had thought well and hard about the character and believed I captured her accent accurately by using ‘me’ for ‘my’. But when the story came back after the teacher had corrected it, I was horrified. The teacher had drawn large red crosses over each “me” and in the margin written “my”. Didn’t she understand that I was using ‘me’ for ‘my’ because the little Aussie with the broad accent pronounced ‘my’ as ‘me’ with a short ‘e’? I remember feeling ashamed. My writing had failed. I hadn’t communicated properly. Worst of all, I said nothing. I pretended that I had indeed made a spelling error. But I was mortified.

I don’t think I ever took a risk in my writing again, well not for a long time.

What’s yours?

Posted by By: kathryn | 2006/05/03 | Personal - Writing | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

20 Responses to What is your earliest writing memory? »»

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roger

Comment by roger | 2006/05/03 at 09:43:36Quote

That’s heartbreaking Kathryn! Teachers, eh - what do they know? I loved your story about the Australian girl. I don’t have any specific early writing memory, except that I loved writing stories from a very young age. I used to like writing scary spooky stories, in which doors would mysteriously open and close of their own accord. And I seem to think I was inordinately fond of the word ‘and’. Still find it pretty handy now and then.
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/03 at 09:53:04Quote

Oh, I love the word ‘and’! In fact, I’ve recently edited the opening of my novel and it now begins with And. Not sure how long that will last. But every story comes from another story - there is no real beginning is there? And, so, ‘and’ it is! That’s funny, Roger, about the prevalence of self-opening and closing doors in your early stories.
Steve Kane

Comment by Steve Kane | 2006/05/03 at 12:16:27Quote

“I never let school interfere with my education.” - Mark Twain

A pox on your teacher who “corrected” your story. Isn’t it amazing that even at such a young age you were already thinking about the voice of narration?

I can’t remember exactly when I started writing. I do remember that I used to gather together various toy aeroplanes, spaceships and cars at the top of the stairs (which was, of course, a mountain), build a super secret base out of boxes and act out epic narratives with them all that lasted for weeks. Many of my “goodies” died spectacular deaths. I was a morbid child.

I also recall starting to write a bizarre murder mystery novel when I was maybe nine years old. My protagonist was an eccentric private detective called Alloysious Kozlowski. Nine years old… how did I come up with a name like Allysious Kozlowski when I was nine years old? I think I called his brother Biddulph.
Kay Sexton

Comment by Kay Sexton | 2006/05/03 at 13:44:12Quote

You all put me to shame. I can’t remember writing anything at all until I was about forty. I did write something about a sunrise once, and had to read it on school radio when I was about nine, but the only memory I have of the whole process is my headmistress giving me a glacier mint that seemed to last forever. I had to move the damn thing around my mouth throughout the ‘recital’ resulting in something woefully less than clear diction!
Ari

Comment by Ari | 2006/05/03 at 16:30:20Quote

I am a little lamb with white fleece and I eat green grass…

It was grade prep, my English was limited but I picked up reading and writing rather quickly.

Interestingly in secondary school I always did better when I wrote pieces for social studies. English teachers could be picky especially when one had a name like Aristea Talantis and a slight accent. University was great for English and creative writing, I learnt the craft of editing and I relaxed my writing style.
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/03 at 22:28:13Quote

Steve - nice Twain quote. Reminds me of my French teacher who’d always ramble and ramble about interesting facts, historical anecdotes, personal experiences and never teach French. She’d say ‘It doesn’t matter what you learn so long as you learn something.’

I guess most of the stories we wrote as kids were ‘written’ in our heads. The stairs, a mountain! That’s great. And Alloysious! I can hardly spell it! Great name.
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/03 at 22:29:48Quote

Kay - I think it’s the other way around, you put us to shame. I’ve been writing since forever and have nothing to show for it. You on the other hand have a list of credits as long as….well, LONG.
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/03 at 22:38:36Quote

Ari - were you not born in Oz? I always thought that English was my native tongue - but lately I’ve been wondering if it wasn’t Greek all along that I first heard around me in my Aussie migrant home. I remember though that I knew English perfectly well before I got to school. I don’t ever remember speaking Greek - except for the two years I studied it and even then I only threw in a word or two here and there. My mum would read to me in English and we’d watch shows on the tele so that I would always have English around me. So I always felt as though English came first. I remember being able to write very easily, but also I’d missed out on a large chunk of popular English sayings which I guess most people learn at home in the first instance as they hear parents and grandparents chat amongst themselves. Though I could always figure them out with a touch of common sense. Still, there did seem to be a gap.
Ari

Comment by Ari | 2006/05/04 at 00:00:56Quote

Yes I as born in Oz. But being an only child to Greek 30’s - 40’s omething migrant parents meant I spoke Greek.

I do have memories of nice Anglo neighbors and watching TV and being upset that they never called out my name in Romper Room but English was never a language I used. My parents in their wisdom decided that I would learn English properly at school and that I could learn Greek from them, something I’m very grateful for.

English by far is the language I express myself the best nowadays, although my husband says I speak Greek in my sleep and I know I speak Greek to him when I’m in a hurry, angry or half asleep.

There will always be a gap in both languages for me, but that’s part of my charm *grins*
Martyn

Comment by Martyn | 2006/05/04 at 03:54:42Quote

I’ve got a vague recollection of writing little rhymes when I was about six.
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/04 at 04:36:35Quote

Ari - the gap is there for both languages for me too I think. I’m keen on filling it in…this is very interesting. You’re so funny - your charm! Indeed! It is charming! xx
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/04 at 04:38:15Quote

Hi Martyn! Rhymes at six?! That’s very interesting. A Mozart of the written word. Thanks for stopping by. I’m off to check out your blog.
Robin Slick

Comment by Robin Slick | 2006/05/04 at 09:55:32Quote

I actually have mine and if I wasn’t so lazy, I’d go upstairs, dig it out, and type it up here verbatim. What’s crazy is that the day after my mother died, my father threw out everything…boxes of photographs, all of our report cards…basically all of our memories. But this one story somehow did not make it to the trash; I found it tucked in an old composition book that I already had taken from my mother’s house when I left home at 17. And if there’s anything I would have wanted in the way of memories, this would have been it so at least that’s cool.

Anyway, my first story was written at age 8 and big surprise, the narrator was also age 8 and had an annoying 5 year old sister (also true) who ran away from home because they were in trouble. (Always true). The stumbled on a secret cave (even though they lived in downtown Philadelphia) where they hid happily until our heroine discovered she was bleeding due to being scratched by a rusty nail on the cave’s walls. “You need to get a bandaid or you will surely bleed to death” said the annoying little sister. Our heroine decided death was better than returning home, but annoying sister ran out of the cave and tattletaled and big angry parents came and got our heroine but they were nice to her because she was bleeding.

The end.
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/04 at 10:37:38Quote

Caves in Philly, huh. You and Steve could have written one wild story had you met as children. That’s brilliant, Robin! That you actually have the original. I love this line - ‘or you will surely bleed to death’! Great!
tom

Comment by tom | 2006/05/04 at 12:32:10Quote

When I was at Kingston Poly someone decided to start a wall magazine on the noticeboard in the area where the students gathered between seminars and lectures for tea and coffee. I decided to write something for it. I’ve no idea why. I was thirty-five years old. People liked what I did so I did more. I’m still just about doing more.

I didn’t write anything as a kid - didn’t live that kind of life. I read all the time, however.
Nabeel

Comment by Nabeel | 2006/05/04 at 16:53:29Quote

writing a letter to my grandfather
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/04 at 23:18:16Quote

That’s interesting, Tom. A single defining moment. I like that!
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/04 at 23:19:27Quote

Nabeel - do you remember a response from your grandfather? Did he read it? Write back? Thanks for stopping by - I’m off to check out your blog.
Debra

Comment by Debra | 2006/05/05 at 05:42:08Quote

I wonder how many writers have been put off by such early experiences.

Not including school work, I wrote my first story when I was 13 and passed it around my class. It went down quite well, as I remember.
kathryn

Comment by kathryn | 2006/05/05 at 06:42:29Quote

Early experiences are funny in that they are not always available consciously - but they are there and they do play a role in further behaviour. Nice to have your stuff passed around the class. That would have given you confidence.

What is your earliest writing memory?

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