In the 4th grade I discovered that I was a writer when we were given our first creative writing assignment. We were to write stories about a baby bird's flight and read them to the class. I put pencil to paper and was instantly whisked away by a force I couldn't explain. I knew that I was meant to do this very thing, this very simple act of putting pencil to paper and letting my mind free. Everyone read their happy stories to the class. I got up and told of how the baby bird flew too high, hit a plane, crashed to the ground and died. I told of how the mama bird and daddy bird cried of how even God was upset sending the rains pouring from the sky. The class was speechless when I finished they were all just staring at me. The teacher kept me after class told me my story was very good but it was different from the others. She asked me if I'd ever heard of Icarus and did I base my story on him. But I had yet to encounter Greek Mythology or hear a whisper of Icarus. As she let me leave class she again told me how good the story was but suggested I might want to write something happier next time. I asked her why and she had no answer. I never took her advice.
In Jr. High I penned novels so hot my classmates mimeographed them (yes...mimeograph!) and passed them around the school like Pez. It wasn't long before I was called down to the Guidance Office. My teachers had also gotten hold of my stories and couldn't believe what they were reading. The dark adult subject matter and the talent behind it. Much ruckus ensued my mother was called in to school. People thought there was something wrong with me. I insisted there wasn't and I stood my ground. My father and my favorite English teacher came to my defense. I prevailed without compromise and continue unto this day to write my way without fluff.
I find little used for fluff except on a peanut butter sandwich. I've always written with a pen toward dealing with the facets of humanity most authors shy away from or at least never explore in any detail. I find that if you never go deep into the dark then you never truly feel the blessing of the light when it shines upon you.
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Location
Connecticut