© irene waters 2013
I came from a home that was full of books. My father’s study was lined with bookcases as was the hall and at least one wall of every room in the house. My parents loved reading and when my brother and I were small they read to us. They read us books like Wind in the Willows, The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, Gullivers Travels, The Swiss Family Robinson and Alice in Wonderland and many, many more.
My brother followed in their footsteps and became a bookworm. Although I loved reading I was far from being a worm. I was more likely to threaten to eat worms if no-one would come and play with me. Christmas holidays were a frustrating time for me. We holidayed at the seaside where the rest of my family would lie in bed all morning reading their books and eating their Christmas chocolates whilst I annoyed them all, agitating to go to the beach. Even threatening to hang myself moved no-one from their books except my brother. He stirred out of bed to watch, crowing when I failed in my attempt due to poor knotting techniques.
It was however, on our annual seaside holiday at Christmas that I developed my love of writing. One of the presents I received from Santa was a diary. My Father wrote the first entry to show what one did with a diary. Unlike his demonstration of winding the mechanical bunny rabbit and how to use a pogo stick (neither of which worked again) he put me on the road to using written words for expression of thought. His first entry read “I went to the beach today. The water felt cold. I went ooh arh, ooh arh, ooh arh. I loved jumping over the waves. It felt like fun.” Simple words for a seven-year old but it taught me to write how I felt, it taught me humour and it taught me facts and my response to them.
This lesson is probably the reason I am a memoir writer and find fiction very, very difficult to write. I probably had some creative bones in my body but these were squashed at an early age, a year or two after receiving my diary. I enjoyed writing. I wrote everyday. My school teacher set a composition topic “mud” that we were to write about. I wrote about a horse and carriage clopping down the cobblestone street on a wet, miserable night when suddenly the horse stood still, refusing to budge. Getting out of the carriage a puppy was found in a puddle, covered in mud. I kept the puppy, named him Mud and then wrote a story about the puppy. The teacher was none too pleased. She failed my attempt as I had not written about the subject. I often wonder if she had given me a gold star instead of a big F and public humiliation, would I now be writing fiction.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/writing-challenge-reflections/
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Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Oh Irene, I love this post for so many reasons. Is that you in the photo? So cute! I am amazed because every book you list here I also read, Gulliver’s Travels a particular favourite! What fascinates me is that you and I have so much in common yet we grew up in totally different hemispheres – Christmas at the beach for instance is a complete misnomer for me – yet, with the reading and the writing and the diaries, everything so much the same.
My dad told us stories but didn’t read to us but he gave me a huge love of story-telling as he used to make up the most wonderful tales. What I’m getting at is that I am going through exactly the same with fiction. I am a memoir writer and until I started the fiction section of my writing course I was doing fine, at least comfortable with what I was doing, but I am beginning to hate my writing since starting fiction as I simply can’t do it! How do writers like us progress? Is there a place for us? Can we write books based on our real life stories as memoir writers?
How sad that your teacher did that. Your piece was the best in the class, I just know it. Maybe we just have to go with our hearts. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, heartwarming, poignant and very well written.
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Thank you Sherri. Glad you liked it. It is amazing that from two different hemispheres there is such similarity which makes both our writings resonate with each other. The cute one is me with my Dad. Storytelling whether read from a book or from the head/heart I think creates a passion for story. I have come to realise (with I imagine more than one exception) that the majority of fiction is non-fiction. The charactrers are known, perhaps even the story happened but the events will at the least draw on the experiences of the writer. I know I do it when we walk past someone for eg I will rattle off a whole story about why the person eg scratched their nose in the way we both noticed. Fiction drawn from my reality. Fiction I think is memoir put in a way that the characters don’t recognise themselves (possibly having characteristics of two people you know) putting them in situations you know how to deal with. Can we write books based on our real life stories as memoir writers? We sure can. I have finished one and almost completed my second. I am doing my research on sequel memoirists and there are quite a few out there. Your book is going to be wonderful. Put your nose to the grindstone and start writing. You have at least one person that plans on buying it. Cheers Irene
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You hit the nail on the head Irene. Again, like you, I am always seeing stories everywhere (the nose-scratching episode is a classic example of this, and the whys and where-fores) and yes, I think of so many ideas that I could write about for a fictional story but I just can’t seem to do it as I think it will sound too true-to-life. I’ve got a bit of a mental block about it at the moment. Maybe it’s because I just need to concentrate on writing my book and not letting all these other thoughts crowd out my mind. I panic and think that I’m flagging and falling behind but it’s a huge mistake to think that I’m in some kind of a race.
You’ve been so helpful to me and what you say here encourages me greatly, thank you so much Irene. I am going to put my nose to the grindstone because knowing that one person wants to read my book – you – makes it all worth it! Have a lovely day my friend 🙂
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Glad to be a support Sherri as you are to me. Just shows – the stories are there it is the paper (computer screen) that stops them. I just read an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert who has written a fiction book. She said it was much harder than her memoirs because her memoirs are polished and she only gives what she wants to , selected stories. Her fiction though she felt safe and said things that she would never have said in her memoir but now realises that if people read her fiction work they will know her better than having read all her memoirs. That she is a part of each character in the book. Perhaps that is why we have a block with fiction.
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Well this fascinating Irene, thanks so much for sharing it. I would never have seen it this way but you really have me thinking now. I’m going to have to really ponder it because this is quite profound. I see it as the other way round, totally so yes, exactly, perhaps this is why we have such a block with fiction. Hmmmm…….will get back to you on this one 🙂
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Some teachers – honestly you just want to go back in time and shake them. I had a teaching in year two that made fun of me in front of the class at reading time cause I asked if there were any other books as I’d read all of those ages ago. He didn’t believe me so pulled me up to the front and started asking questions about different books in the shelves. He was NOT at all happy that I could answer them which is odd since he was a teacher.
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Luckily I think times have changed but yes I think teachers had a lot to answer for in earlier days despite their hard work.
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Your writing is fantastic! I felt like I was almost there with you on the beach and saw your father write the first journal entry which marked the very beginning. Your words reach out to my soul. I have always been a fan of fiction but I am definitely buying your book if you are publishing 🙂
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Shmruthi, Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed being on the beach with my Dad and me. It was a day that I will never forget. My book I am hoping will be available by the end of April and a little later as an ebook. I shall certainly do a post when it is ready. Thanks also for the follow. Cheers Irene
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That’s fantastic news. Do keep us posted 🙂
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I will but no pressure ever. 🙂
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You might find this article interesting – on creativity, writing, blogging, self-disclosure
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-cain/putting-yourself-out-there-tips_b_5019024.html
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Great article. Some good tips also and I particularly liked her take on coffee. 🙂
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Irene — I’m happy to meet you by way of you stopping by my site on a writing process blog hop. I already feel a kinship in that you weren’t a bookworm like your family and you taking on more personal writing as a memoirist. We’re similar that way. Hope to connect with you, learn more of your adventures and get to know you. 🙂
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Pat, The blog hop is such an interesting way to meet other writers and learn of their process and also their writing. I was certainly also glad to have met you as a result and look forward to spending more time around your kitchen table, which by the way the picture evokes such comfortable feelings I just want to pull up a chair and chat. Irene
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Yes, it is, Irene. I’ve never done it before. It took me into another challenge. I’m glad as it led us to connect. I’m looking forward to learning more from you on your adventures down under. I know I’ve never seen flowered trees like that before in that color.
You’re welcome to pull up a chair, anytime, and come sit at my kitchen table and exchange stories. Looks like we’d have a couple to share, i.e., you as a potato peeler and me in the tomato fields in a makeshift tomato factory.
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Thank you for the invitation Pat. i look forward to joining you. Cheers Irene 🙂
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🙂 Have a great weekend.
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🙂
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