Learning to write. again

bySamMaddox

90 followers

6 years ago

Back in high school I was once accused by an English teacher of plagiarism. See, I wasn't what you would call a "model student." I was more prone to be out raising heck someplace than in the library. So, when my high school graduation depended on my passing one last English credit, and that credit depended on me writing a paper on a topic I had no interest in, I buckled down and did it.

After turning in the paper I was called into the principal's office. There sat old Mrs Whatshername and Principal somebody. They told me that I wasn't going to graduate due to my stealing someone else's work. I smiled and said "give me 20 minutes." Back then they wanted us to make note cards, an outline, and all that non-sense. What they did not know was I HAD done all that garbage, and had the proof at home, 10 minutes away.

I walked back into the principal's office with a stack of note cards, outlines, drafts, and all sorts of other proof that I HAD in fact written that paper. Me, the bad kid, the hot-rodder, the class skipping prankster, I had actually spent time in the library researching some mind-numbing subject, made the stupid note cards, made the outline, made drafts, corrected errors (this was long before word processors), and written my ticket to graduation.

Throughout college, I wrote using my own system which was to start in the middle, get something on paper, and go from there. I never got less than an 'A' on any paper I wrote. I was encouraged by several people to pursue writing as a career. I didn't.

I ended up somehow working as a financial analyst for a fortune 50 "too big to fail" bank. I did that for almost 20 years. I wasn't really a quantitative thinker, but I could build you a spreadsheet that could flip pancakes and wax your car, at the same time! My ability to write, to think creatively, got dimmed down somewhere deep in my brain.

Now, I find myself an affiliate marketer with a need to write original, engaging, and interesting content for my posts. It's almost like trying to learn to write all over again. It might take a little while but at least the more I focus and just do it the easier it gets. Just like my body, I need to exercise my brain.. the right side, that is.