How I Started Writing Fiction

by BarbaraHelene Smith

I had no prior experience writing fiction, but when I received an Extension Course catalogue in the mail, I reviewed the offerings and identified a six-week summer creative writing class. On a
whim, I drove to the school and registered. When I returned to the car, I sat frozen, questioning my decision — “What did I do? — I’m not a writer!”

Initially nervous and apprehensive about my abilities, I gradually developed an appreciation for the assignments and the collaborative process of sharing and refining my stories.

When the course ended, I realized my growing enthusiasm for writing, and subsequently joined a group of dedicated writers at another class at a local college. When the college discontinued the
course, six of the students from the class formed a critique group, and within the first year, each of us had a story published. Several years later, four of my short stories which centered on a
common theme — Ordinary women finding themselves in extraordinary situations while searching for the truth — formed the basis for my publication, Assume Nothing, marking the beginning of my fiction-writing vocation.

After relocating from California to New York, I joined the Lilac City Rochester Writers, an organization dedicated to improving the skills of writers at all levels. Since joining LCRW, I have published a series of Connie Murphy Mystery eBooks, based on my seventeen years as an investigator with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

And to think, it all began by taking a chance on a six-week creative writing course.


Assume Nothing and the Connie Murphy Mysteries by BarbaraHelene Smith are available at Amazon.com as eBooks and paperbacks.