I have been writing for most of my life, it seems.
When I was a little girl, I loved to read, and I was nosy.
Although I didn’t work for my high school newspaper, once I found journalism in college, I never looked back.
That was about 35 years ago, and I hope to keep going for many more. It still makes my heart beat fast.
My boys are wonderful writers (and that’s coming from a slew of teachers through the years, not just Momma), and they grew up loving to read and writing stories.
Because I’m a writer, my mother has always told me I need to write a bestseller and get rich, like John Grisham or one of those prolific authors. The problem is, I am not a novelist.
Give me someone to interview, a topic to research, a situation to investigate, and I can crank out a lot of copy. Tell me to create it in my head, and I’m at a loss.
That’s why I admire people who can create wonderful stories — people like my little friend, 7-year-old Kamryn. She comes to our office sometimes with her grandmother, and while Kamryn’s
here, she creates books with markers and computer paper. (She is fast, too, which is great training if she wants to be a reporter who deals with deadlines.)
I was impressed with her first book, although I don’t remember her subject matter. Her mother said her stories “always mean something.”
I kept one, which is called “What if everyone did that?”
“I was running through the halls, and the principal stopped me and said what if everybody did that?
“I threw my soda bottle out the window, and the polese pulled me over and said what if everybody did that?”
Then someone dropped nails at Walmart … you get the gist.
These books are also “elustrated” by her, as she wrote on the cover of one. Actually, her spelling is pretty good for a 7-year-old (better than some adults I know), and I’d give her imagination and creativity an A-plus.
She wrote a story about a boy trying to decide what to name his dog. He came across a snake, so the boy used the letter S; then he saw a penguin, and he used a P. There was also an octopus, and a turtle, on this boy’s walk, so he came up with the name SPOT.
I think her stories are wonderful. She’s obviously got a knack for it. Her grandmother says she’s good at math, too. My mind says she should go with that in the future — she’ll make more money than if she gets into journalism, no doubt. She’s also a really good athlete, and she also happens to be pretty. Modeling, maybe? The girl’s got options.
But my heart wants her to be a writer. No, wait. She already is.
She drew a picture for me one day and wordlessly brought it to my desk. Inside colorful designs, it said: “We are writers together.”
Yes, Kamryn, we are.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.