One of my mother’s favorite authors, Dorothea Benton Frank was in town this evening for a book signing, so I accompanied Mom on a trip down to the Clinton Book Shop.
Dorothea had lots of fun writing stories to share including some horror stories from her first book tour including an ill-fated trip to a Georgia Barnes & Noble where the event manager had quit and no one knew about her arrival and she ended up talking to an audience of two who turned out to just be there for the air conditioning. But my favorite part of her talk was her answer to the question of what got her started writing. She told the audience that it was a fight with her husband that made her decide to start writing.
She was mad at her husband for not buying her family home when they had the opportunity to do so, and she was looking for a career that she could take on while also raising her kids. So, she channeled that anger and set her mind to writing. The happy ending is that she has gone on to have a successful writing career and is still happily married to her husband.
There’s a lot of things it’s not advisable to do in anger, but writing, thankfully, is not one of them – well, as long as what you are writing is a work of fiction, and not, say, an email to your boss! So, the next time you get really angry, maybe you should sit down and write a story. Hey, it worked for Dorothea Benton Frank.
My Books
I’ve been keeping a journal since I was 12 or 13. It started because I needed an outlet where to let my frustrations lose. It was rough in my home so I had a lot to write about. Now, I hate looking back and reading my journals because I keep thinking my life sucked. But the truth is, I only wrote when angry or sad and well…never when I was happy.
I was really saddened that I didn’t really record all my happy moments.
It was still very helpful and it always made me feel better.
That’s a funny story she had, although I’m sure it wasn’t funny to her at the time.
Lluvia: My journals are the same way. I wrote way more during bad times than good times.
Angie: I agree, and I guess it all worked out in the end!
I’ve noticed that any strong emotion strengthens my writing. It’s a great way to channel something that could otherwise be destructive. What a great story, thanks for sharing it with us!