Not sure how old I was, but composed my first "puppy love" song around age 9. A couple years later I started a novel. Kathleen Fortner

I was 15. Is this supposed to be a poll? Because I just see a big purple box that says percent running from 0-120 on the bottom.

I remember writing a short story for my dad on his birthday when I was in 3rd grade. It was about a man named Peetle who fell through the clouds from heaven but had nowhere to land. In seeing this, God created the earth so Peetle would hit it, die and go back to heaven. Incredibly morbid - but Dad used it as an analogy in church (he's a minister) and still uses it today. I never said I was a GOOD early writer - just an early writer.

I was having dreams, and decided to write one down, when I was in 9th grade. From then on, I would write down anything that came to mind, and most of it just formed around the rest.

But when I got into high school, creative writing was the thing that really awakened my first novel. With the ideas she gave us, I was able to write certain scenes to get a start. During my high school years, I got more inspirational music to make a playlist, which made my novel bloom and be finished. Does anybody like to use a playlist to help them with their writing? I highly recommend it!

Maybe when Mr. Watson my fifth grade teacher told my mother that I had a gift for writing... maybe when I started writing feature articles for the school newspaper... maybe when I realized that I am happiest when I am being creative...



Maureen