Sally Steele’s Journey
I have no natural talent for writing, so it is a skill I’ve had to learn. I could blame
my high school English teachers for not preparing me to tackle the written word, but my
inattention during class is the more likely culprit. When I graduated from high school, I
couldn’t construct coherent sentences or cohesive paragraphs, not that I made any
serious attempts to try it at that time in my life.
My post-high school attempts at storytelling fell flat. I briefly considered taking
journalism in college, but I had no ideas, so I chose math and science instead. I never
did finish college anyway and the fastest computer at that time was the Cray II, and it
took up two rooms. Only big businesses, universities, and NASA had computers.
Life moved on and I got married and had a family, so any dreams I had of writing
languished. Then, after thirty-some-odd years, ideas came to me, but I still couldn’t
write a readable story. Fortunately, a night-school flyer arrived in my mailbox – the one
at the end of my driveway. (Still not up to the “everybody has a computer” era.)
Kim Gore, a member of LCRW, was teaching a class on creative writing, and I
signed up. It helped, but I still had a lot to learn. From the writing class, I heard about a
Critique Group in the Barnes & Noble at the Greece Mall on the Ridge. It’s every second
Thursday from 6:30 pm – 8 pm, and tuition is free, which fits into my budget.
At the Critique Group, I found out about LCRW. The membership fee is only $20
a year, again easy on my budget, and I have learned from seasoned writers on how to tell
a tale with clarity and color. I’ve even had a poem and an essay published in local
papers.
LCRW offers encouragement, instruction and friendship and I recommend it to
all aspiring writers. If nothing else, you’ll have fun. Don’t delay – you have a novel in
you the rest of the world should read. Come join us.
Lilac City Rochester Writers 