Neva’s Writing JourneyEssays, Contests, and RomanceWith the encouragement from my sixth grade teacher on the Travelogue, I began entering essay contests. The American Legion sponsored a yearly contest. One year my essay took second place locally and again at the state competition. I believe that was the year I wrote about accomplishing world peace through a world government such as the United Nations. Judging by the world today, my writing must have been better than my idea. In high school English class, we were required to write one page essays on subjects of our own choosing. Many of my classmates dreaded these assignments. I reveled in them. One of these essays I titled, “The Perfect Backyard.” I turned my imagination loose and created a backyard far different from the backyard on our farm. Another one I remember described a gathering storm. For this one, I didn’t need to use my imagination, simply describe what I had witnessed many times. My crowning writing achievement in high school was a ranch romance I wrote for a literature class. My heroine had a horse that came when she whistled and a dog that obeyed her every command. The story included rustlers who stole the hero’s cattle, and a secret tunnel through a mountain through which they escaped. The heroine was an ornithology student spending the summer studying cliff swallows on the ranch she had inherited. In today’s world, she would be an animal rights activist. The opening scene shows her infuriated by the hero because he shot a deer on her property. After that stormy beginning, she helps him apprehend the rustlers. Of course, the story has a happy ending with the hero and heroine falling in love and living happily ever after on their combined ranches. I smile when I remember that fanciful teenager who wrote this story. What I Learned from This Writing Venture
|
|
Jo Barkley books are also available at Barnes
and Noble.
Webmaster: KLA
Treasures |