Monday, February 13, 2012

Origins Blogfest



DL Hammons, Alex J. Cavanaugh , Katie Mills, and Matthew MacNish should be thanked for hosting this blogfest! I love Origin stories in comic book series, but mine isn't nearly as exciting. But I love reading all of yours, so I thought maybe someone out there in the vast world of the Interwebz might be interested in mine.
Without further ado, The Origin of Prerna Pickett, Writing Extrodinare:

It all started on the day I was born...okay, maybe it was a little bit later than that. I spare you nitty gritty details. I've loved writing for as long as I can remember. Whether they were a mystery involving a classmate named Nevada, or cheesy love songs that made no sense. My mom is a poet. At one point she wanted to write a novel (she still wants to when she retires). So when I showed interest in the art of writing, she was more than encouraging. That's when I learned that you could write for a living. That making up stories was an actual profession! I went around telling my family and friends that I wanted to be an author when I grew up. It sounded magical.

Then as I got older I started thinking that it wasn't going to happen. I wasn't special enough to be an author. It seemed like a pipe dream. I continued to work on things, but never really took it seriously. Back in '04 I graduated HS and went away to college. My mom got me a brand new laptop and I felt quite fancy. One day I was sitting in my dorm room all alone, while my roommate was in class, and I decided to write down a story. It sucked. It sucked so hard  I immediately deleted it. And even though I only wrote a thousand words at most, I felt absolutely ridiculous for thinking I could actually do something that had been calling to me from an early age.Three years later I got pregnant with my second little guy. That's when this overwhelming need to write started to take over. I couldn't push it away anymore, shove it into some dark place where dreams go to die.

So, I sat down and started the story that had been gnawing at me since high school. The words flowed from my brain to my fingers with more ease than I thought imaginable. I reread the words. They weren't half bad. Then I thought 'hmmm...maybe I shouldn't have given up so easily the first time.' The days that followed were filled with more words, coming at me faster than I could keep pace. And I never looked back.

What can you learn from my story? Don't give up so easily. Don't think you're not special enought to pursue your dreams. There's a reason you have that feeling eating away at you. And you'll never know until you've tried if it's worth it.

18 comments:

  1. Oh Perna! You are so young. I didn't realize you graduated in 04! I love that you wanted almost always to be an author. It still sounds kind of mystically magical to me...one day.

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  2. I've wanted to be a writer since I was very young, too. Best of luck!

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  3. Aw! I love your story and your advice. Sometimes it's hard to remember that writers don't start out great, that they have to work toward it. Good for you for following your dream and thank you for sharing your story.

    I also wanted to tell you that I tagged you on my blog: http://averymarsh.blogspot.com/2012/02/followers-campaign-games.html

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  4. Wonderful story and awesome message. We can never run away from that need to write. And we shouldn't have to.

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  5. I think we can all relate to those early, oh-so-awful, stories we wrote where we thought I can do this, then read it back and thought, I suck! I've learned that the more we write, the less we suck!
    Good luck!

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  6. I think early stories exist to be awful, but they're a building block and you have it right to never give up :D

    I love your story, it's great that your mother was so encouraging.

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  7. Thanks for sharing, Prerna! Very fun to know more of your history with writing. I wish I had discovered writing earlier in my life, but am happy to have it now :D

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  8. Thanks for the words of encouragement! Whenever I write crap (which I often do), I actually don't find it so discouraging because I realize writing anything is going to help me become a better writer. As long as I am actually doing the act of writing, whether it turns out good or bad, I am accomplishing something.

    Allison (Geek Banter)

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  9. Loved your post--so cool that your mom's a poet! And I can tell from your post that your writing flows. Nice to meet you via the blogfest.

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  10. That is exactly how I feel. I came to writing very late in life, but I am so totally committed to going the distance. Writing fulfills me like nothing before it, except maybe being a mother, but with my last bird flying the nest in a few months, writing should keep me company.

    I'm a new follower via the Origins bloghop.

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  11. Aw, great post. I love hearing these stories and am sad that I missed this blogfest. I knew I wanted to write when I was in 4th grade and read Where the Red Fern Grows. that book made me feel so much. I wanted to do the same.

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  12. I love your message, Prerna!

    Write on! Write on!!

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  13. Never give up. That's the perfect attitude to have. Thanks for sharing your origin story, Prerna!

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  14. If writing is indeed a passion ingrained in you, it will always rise up and haunt you until you give in to it. Kudo's to you for finally listening to that inner-voice! A wonderful ORIGIN story! :)

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  15. i swear pregnancy/motherhood inspires previously unimagineable feats! great beginnings!

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  16. Love how your mom encouraged you. (And i love your friend's name--Nevada). I hope you & your mom both get published one day. great to meet you through this blogfest.

    your newest follower,
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  17. Such an inspiring story! You never know until you try--I love that!

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  18. wow! such a good talent its gifted to you!

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