From Pigtails to Chin Hairs; A Memoir & More

The fabulous Becky Povich decided to stop by and share her love of writing! Here she is!

 

 

Although I proclaimed for years that I wanted to be a writer, I never did anything about it. It was much easier to say I wanted to write, but I just didn't have the time. That way, I couldn't possibly be a failure. It was just a dream and didn't seem like a practical one. (Practical dreams? Isn't that an oxymoron?!)

Looking back, I realize I actually wrote a great deal all through my life. I just didn't look at it that way. As a young girl, I had several pen pals and I loved composing my letters to them. As I grew up and moved from home, I wrote to family and friends. One year I surrendered and decided it wasn't tacky to write the Generic Christmas Letter. That very first one got rave reviews. Hmm, maybe I'd stumbled onto something here!

A few years later, I was the drapery coordinator at a large company. I took it upon myself to type newsletters to the sales and customer service departments. I loved the challenge of making the letters informative, interesting, and humorous. At times, I received compliments, yet it never occurred to me that this was writing, this was something I was good at, this was something exciting and rewarding.

Then in May of 2001, my estranged father became very ill and was near death. The emotions that came over me were so powerful and unexpected I felt the need to write about them. I sat down at my desk and the words just flowed out of me and onto the keyboard. A writer was born.

That story was accepted by a local newspaper for their guest opinion column, and eventually by Chicken Soup for the Soul. I fall asleep every night and wake up every morning, thinking about nothing else: Writing! I can't even remember what I used to do or think about all the time…..oh, I guess it was probably housework…..so please don't ever stop by unannounced!

 

Becky is currently finishing her memoir, "From Pigtails to Chin Hairs; A Memoir & More." It's both poignant and humorous anecdotes about her life, some from the recent past, therefore the "& More" part of the title. Becky can be found at www.beckypovich.blogspot.com and her e-mail is Writergal53@gmail.com