When I was little, I was lucky to have parents that let me try what I wanted when it came to extracurricular activities. I quickly learned that my body was not at all coordinated when it came to sports or dance. I also knew from summer camps that I did not have the patience for arts or crafts. I was not a big videogame player although I have very found memories of the Super Nintendo and the Nintendo 64.
As a child, I was always happier exercising my imagination. I was always an introvert and preferred to spend time by myself or with close family and friends. I loved daydreaming and making up characters for role play in games we played at the park or the backyard. But when I started writing, I did not consider it an extracurricular activity, the kind that you have to practice to get better at. If any of you have tried your hand at writing, you’ll know it’s a relatively lonely process. Even if you want to be a writer, few people will really believe when you begin that you “will make it as a writer.” If you need affirmative encouragement, such as what you get in sports, dance or drawing, it does not come commonly in writing because sometimes the writer does not feel comfortable sharing his or her work.
For me as an introvert, the lonely-esque characteristics did not bother me. I love time to myself-it re-energizes me. The lack of affirmative encouragement was a little harder. To accept constructive criticism takes some work, especially for someone like me, a die-hard perfectionist who had to learn to dial it down. For an introvert, who can also have difficulty getting things out of her head, it can be an arduous process. And publishing does not change that-the discussion you have with your editors and publishers can really put your ideas to the test, even if those conversations are not only well intentioned but necessary.
Regardless of how different it is from what may be considered an extra-curricular activity, this talent or power, as I liked to call it, requires honing. Very rarely will this talent be enough. It’s always enlightening to me to look at my old writings. Although they make me cringe, it feels good to know that I can see improvement.
It also helps to read more, and perhaps read something that I would not pick otherwise. For example, I love to read fiction but, in my quest, as a writer, I have read memoirs, nonfiction and horror. For a writer to find his or her own style, in my opinion, they should read other writers and see how they do things. The newbie might decide that they do not like it and do it differently, but the point is to look at other styles before you find your own.
So in my own way, I had found my extracurricular activity by the time I was ten. It just looked a little different than what I considered to be a hobby or talent. And to this day, I look forward to honing my writing whenever I get a few minutes to wind down from the realities of life.