How it Was at the Beginning of my Writing Career (#1)
This month I was asked to give a talk to a writer's group about what it was like way back when I began writing. I've always written, but I'm going to start here what it was like when I began the first book of mine that finally got published, Two Ways West. The idea came when my sister did our family's history. That was long before the computer and the Internet. She researched the census and talked to old family members who were still around. She composed a booklet for all of us with what she'd discovered. It fascinated me, and made me curious about why the family did what they did--especially all the moving from one place to the other. I began writing in longhand and doing my own research. As I learned more about these people I researched the history of the places they'd been by using the library.. I also had the opportunity to actually visit and chat with some of these old-timers. One big help came from the historical society of Brownsville...