I'm turning over my blog to a guest blogger who has caught my eye. She has a unique style that captures the reader with a friendly "hello" and "let's sit and chat" manner. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did.
Writing is an incredibly unique profession, it is perhaps one
of the few careers that really does get better with age. In today’s extreme youth oriented society, it
is shocking to suggest that there is some benefit to getting older, but in
terms of being a writer, age has a great many advantages. After years working in healthcare and
education, I decided it was time to do what I had always dreamed of and become
a full time writer. This has not been
without some struggles, but I believe that right now is the best time for me to
jump into writing with both feet.
Best-selling writer Elizabeth Gilbert is quoted saying
“Writing is not like dancing or modelling; it’s not something where if you
missed it by age 19 you’re finished.
It’s never too late. Your writing
will only get better as you get older and wiser.” Using all of your life experience in your
writing gives your work a richness and depth that is earned through all of the
things you have learned along the way. I
am not suggesting that there are no good young writers, but there are a great
many mature writers who had added so much to the literary world.
The average age for a first published book in this country is
42. My first book was published when I
was 38 years old, so I beat the average just slightly. After taking a few years off I am ready to
jump back into the writing world and at almost 50 years old, I am in good
company. There are quite a few literary
late bloomers like me. One of my
favorite authors, Claire Cook, likes to boast that she was writing her first
novel at 45 and at 50 she was walking the red carpet as her book was turned in
to a highly successful Hollywood movie.
She is living the writing fairy tale that many writers aspire to. The unifying theme of all of her books is
reinvention, an idea that seems to resonate with so many of us as we get
older. At 45 Cook is in good
company. Wildly popular author Janet
Evanovich did not publish her first book until age 44. Helen Dewitt also published the highly
successful The Last Samurai at age 44. These are not even some of the older authors
that I discovered. As a child I loved
reading the Little House on the Prairie books.
I would read and share these books with my friends. I was astonished to learn that Laura Ingalls
Wilder did not even begin writing her stories until the age of 44 and she was
first published at the age of 64. My
childhood would not have been the same if Ms. Inglls Wilder thought she was too
old to try something new. After leaving
the teaching profession, Frank McCourt first published a book in his
mid-sixties
There has never been a better time to write and publish a
book. As the popularity of ebooks
continues to grow exponentially, authors have so many choices for
publication. There are unending
technology tools and resources available for writers. No longer do authors have to spend days at
the local library, trying to read old microfiche films, now just a few clicks
on your lap top can yield the research needed for your latest book
setting. If you don’t want to go the
traditional route of an agent and a publishing house, Indie publishing firms
abound. Once a book is written, authors have
a plethora of marketing tools at their disposal through a whole host of social
media platforms. The tools for writing
have improved so much, anyone with a computer and enough motivation can become
a writer – at any age.
BIO:
Laurie Jake is a self-described writer, dreamer and child at heart. Her unique insights on emotions and behavior come from her many roles as a wife, mother, sister and former middle school teacher. Laurie wrote her first book in 2001. Laurie lives in Arizona with her incomparable fiancé and three unruly dogs. http://lookingonthesunnyside.blogspot.com/
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