I love the image of you dressed as Christopher Columbus! I seem to remember a special kind of had that he wore in addition to his 15th century garb. That's great!. Maybe a premonition for your real life, leaving out the conquest aspect of course. It was kind of you to allow him to bring his wife with him, and brave of you to stand up for the boy who got that part.
I enjoyed seeing how you moved into your writing role in life.
Thanks Jonathan! Yes, I am sure that CC inspired some of my interest in this part of the world, but yes I do hope I arrived here with a very different mindset to his. I don't remember feeling brave for standing up for my classmate, I just always hated injustice and things that adults did that made no sense haha. It is good to be reminded, and generally I still feel like that!
This piece transported me to my early writing days. Eight-year-old me in my writing “studio,” a little corner in the garage, pencil and lined tablet perched precariously on the desk fashioned from an old door on sawhorses. Fueled by an endless buffet of Nancy Drews, I fancied myself a mystery novelist.
I just love this imagery! I loved Nancy Drew too but I was always confused by these country clubs they went too. We didn’t have those in London haha. Did you write any mysteries as a child? Do you remember what happened in them?
Loved this post. Well done that your school let you put on your play at such a young age. I wish I'd been allowed to do it. I too have always used words to work out feelings - and was so excited when I came across an MA called "using creative writing for therapeutic purposes" and discovered that what I did was a "thing".
My first play was at a similar age to you and was about the murder of Thomas a Becket. I'm not sure where it went, probably thrown away in a move. But my history teacher said it was good but that I needed to sort out the language as my wording was too American. I know he was trying to be encouraging but I found that whole totally overwhelming so I didn't write any more fiction for years and I've never tried another play. Funny how words that people say can be misconstrued when we feel insecure.
I did a creative writing and history combine degree as a mature student and my history tutor was always saying my essays were too creative, though my creative writing tutor said my stories were too bogged down in facts.
I love your comments about what is truth, etc. and have just had a chat with my daughter who is a classics student who was lecturing me on not checking sources before I say things!! She was taught with Classics to always check who was funding/paying the person who wrote the article. A good idea. So even 2000+ years ago there was still "spin" etc
Lots to chew over again with your article. Thanks X
Diane, thank you so much for sharing this. I really enjoyed reading your comment and seeing the fun parallels in things. That MA sounds wonderful! I have heard about these kind of things outside of universities but the fact that there is an MA is encouraging. And oh, the trouble of being too creative for one tutor and two factual for another, isn't it funny what boundaries we put around all these things. I hear you on feedback landing wrong too. I am so glad this sharing gave you lots to chew on and that it provoked some chats with your daughter. Thank you again for being here and for sharing!
Ahhhh, Susannah! Thank you for sharing your wonderful and sometimes heartbreaking memories so that I could open the space to find mine, too.
The first book I ever wrote was Koala Bill and I wish I still had it. It was written in a dollar store knock off notebook of The Little Mermaid and I kept it forever and ever until I didn't. I also remember writing poems about The Addams Family and my Dad drawing the pictures for me.
In high school the boy who would become my first boyfriend and I met because we got our mid-year results back and were tied at the top of our grade in English that was made as an announcement in front of the entire grade.
Funnily, I once had an English teacher tell me she wished my story was longer and that I could have stretched it out a lot more with a lot more detail - and now I can never keep anything succinct and short haha.
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for sharing this. It was so lovely to read and I hope it felt good/helpful to remember? I want to read Koala Bill..I bet he'd have some fun adventures with my owls. "I kept it forever and ever until I didn't" That's sort of heartbreaking and perfect in its way. I love that excelling in English led to love and that last story is just so perfect! Amazing the influence that these comments can have!
I am so glad to hear that, Marian. Thank you! And I am glad you like the way I read it, maybe that little girl who wanted to play Columbus came out in the reading :)
¡Me encantó! Gracias por compartir tu historia. Mi mejor maestro, aunque nunca fue mi profesor, es mi papá. Él me motiva a retomar el camino de escribir que tanto disfruté de niña y tuve en pausa tantos años.
Imposible escoger un libro nada más, pero, el último que me encantó fue “Meditaciones” de Marco Aurelio. Me parece increíble cómo algo que se escribió hace más de 1,800 años siga tan vigente y tan necesario 💜
Ay gracias, Jimena! Que lindo esto de tu papá, me encanta escuchar historias asi! Y lo que dices del libro es muy cierto. Pienso igual cuando leo Rumi o Hafez....como puede ser que me relaciono tanto con sus palabras? Habla mucho de que las cosas importantes de los seres humanos no cambia, solo complicamos la vida con un millón de cosas mas!
I love the image of you dressed as Christopher Columbus! I seem to remember a special kind of had that he wore in addition to his 15th century garb. That's great!. Maybe a premonition for your real life, leaving out the conquest aspect of course. It was kind of you to allow him to bring his wife with him, and brave of you to stand up for the boy who got that part.
I enjoyed seeing how you moved into your writing role in life.
Thanks Jonathan! Yes, I am sure that CC inspired some of my interest in this part of the world, but yes I do hope I arrived here with a very different mindset to his. I don't remember feeling brave for standing up for my classmate, I just always hated injustice and things that adults did that made no sense haha. It is good to be reminded, and generally I still feel like that!
This piece transported me to my early writing days. Eight-year-old me in my writing “studio,” a little corner in the garage, pencil and lined tablet perched precariously on the desk fashioned from an old door on sawhorses. Fueled by an endless buffet of Nancy Drews, I fancied myself a mystery novelist.
I just love this imagery! I loved Nancy Drew too but I was always confused by these country clubs they went too. We didn’t have those in London haha. Did you write any mysteries as a child? Do you remember what happened in them?
Loved this post. Well done that your school let you put on your play at such a young age. I wish I'd been allowed to do it. I too have always used words to work out feelings - and was so excited when I came across an MA called "using creative writing for therapeutic purposes" and discovered that what I did was a "thing".
My first play was at a similar age to you and was about the murder of Thomas a Becket. I'm not sure where it went, probably thrown away in a move. But my history teacher said it was good but that I needed to sort out the language as my wording was too American. I know he was trying to be encouraging but I found that whole totally overwhelming so I didn't write any more fiction for years and I've never tried another play. Funny how words that people say can be misconstrued when we feel insecure.
I did a creative writing and history combine degree as a mature student and my history tutor was always saying my essays were too creative, though my creative writing tutor said my stories were too bogged down in facts.
I love your comments about what is truth, etc. and have just had a chat with my daughter who is a classics student who was lecturing me on not checking sources before I say things!! She was taught with Classics to always check who was funding/paying the person who wrote the article. A good idea. So even 2000+ years ago there was still "spin" etc
Lots to chew over again with your article. Thanks X
Diane, thank you so much for sharing this. I really enjoyed reading your comment and seeing the fun parallels in things. That MA sounds wonderful! I have heard about these kind of things outside of universities but the fact that there is an MA is encouraging. And oh, the trouble of being too creative for one tutor and two factual for another, isn't it funny what boundaries we put around all these things. I hear you on feedback landing wrong too. I am so glad this sharing gave you lots to chew on and that it provoked some chats with your daughter. Thank you again for being here and for sharing!
Ahhhh, Susannah! Thank you for sharing your wonderful and sometimes heartbreaking memories so that I could open the space to find mine, too.
The first book I ever wrote was Koala Bill and I wish I still had it. It was written in a dollar store knock off notebook of The Little Mermaid and I kept it forever and ever until I didn't. I also remember writing poems about The Addams Family and my Dad drawing the pictures for me.
In high school the boy who would become my first boyfriend and I met because we got our mid-year results back and were tied at the top of our grade in English that was made as an announcement in front of the entire grade.
Funnily, I once had an English teacher tell me she wished my story was longer and that I could have stretched it out a lot more with a lot more detail - and now I can never keep anything succinct and short haha.
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for sharing this. It was so lovely to read and I hope it felt good/helpful to remember? I want to read Koala Bill..I bet he'd have some fun adventures with my owls. "I kept it forever and ever until I didn't" That's sort of heartbreaking and perfect in its way. I love that excelling in English led to love and that last story is just so perfect! Amazing the influence that these comments can have!
I always love the images and memories and prompts this substack stirs up! Thank you Susannah x
Really enjoyed this Susannah! Love the way you read it too, as if on a stage.
I am so glad to hear that, Marian. Thank you! And I am glad you like the way I read it, maybe that little girl who wanted to play Columbus came out in the reading :)
¡Me encantó! Gracias por compartir tu historia. Mi mejor maestro, aunque nunca fue mi profesor, es mi papá. Él me motiva a retomar el camino de escribir que tanto disfruté de niña y tuve en pausa tantos años.
Imposible escoger un libro nada más, pero, el último que me encantó fue “Meditaciones” de Marco Aurelio. Me parece increíble cómo algo que se escribió hace más de 1,800 años siga tan vigente y tan necesario 💜
Ay gracias, Jimena! Que lindo esto de tu papá, me encanta escuchar historias asi! Y lo que dices del libro es muy cierto. Pienso igual cuando leo Rumi o Hafez....como puede ser que me relaciono tanto con sus palabras? Habla mucho de que las cosas importantes de los seres humanos no cambia, solo complicamos la vida con un millón de cosas mas!