April 1, 2008 - April Fool's Day Story
Click here to read a fun story about April Fouille.

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Why I write; The Writer’s Mould
By Patricia L. Atchison

© September 2007. All rights Reserved. No part of this document may be printed, reproduced or photocopied either electronically or in any format without written permission from the author.

The Creator’s hands meant for me to be a writer from the outset of my birth. Many people ask me how long I have been writing. I’d have to reply, “It feels like all my life!” I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t thinking up stories.

When I look back at my life, there is a thread of common interests that have moulded my life into a writer’s life. I remember the mimeographed foolscap sheets we were given in grade school. If the teacher had just printed them with the lines appropriate for writing letters on, then they were ice cold and moist, the smell of the blue ink was a pleasure to my senses as I inhaled deeply the scent of the mimeographed ink. I made sure I didn’t use all the sheets, nor waste any, so that I could save the leftovers to take home and play school with. It’s too bad that the smell didn’t last much past the first few moments of the sheets being handed out.

One part of my life (the basis for loving all things living) is my joy for nature. Bears I believe are my Totem. My first love for bears stemmed from a paper researched in grade five about the great Kodiak bear of North America (note the picture on my website of the Kodiak bears). When requested to put together the essay, right away I knew I wanted to write about bears. It was at that time too, I first fell in love with doing the research to find the information for my paper; my writer’s mould started, the initial beginnings of story, of writing.

When my family moved to Germany (my father was posted there by the army), I discovered the love of books. Even though televisions had come out in the early 1960’s and we had one while we lived in Canada , over in Germany they were not available to us. When we did have access to one, we couldn’t understand the language, so didn’t find any enjoyment in watching it. Children had to learn to amuse themselves and create their own fun.

I believe it was in Germany where I learned discipline to create my own activities and to enjoy the company of myself. My Dad once told me I was a good friend to myself. I was comfortable spending time with me. I think my writer’s life mould was even more sculpted by the long hours I spent getting to know me.

While in Germany , my imagination kept me busy. I fell in love with dolls and amusing myself with stories of their lives within make-believe worlds. I talked stories around them. I created dresses and lifestyles to go along with their wardrobes that their situations demanded.

I then fell in love with books. I whiled away hours when not in school through every published volume of Nancy Drew mysteries, and then it was onto my brother’s Hardy Boy mystery books. I loved the feel of books. Cute pocket sized books about 4 x 5 inches felt good in my small hands.

When we came back to Canada , in junior high school, I once borrowed one of my mother’s books and discovered the world of adult reading. I left the juvenile book world behind and cherished massive novels such as China Beach and Papillion.

I always did well with spelling bee’s and English classes. I entered a poetry contest through a radio station (the then CKXL in Calgary ) to celebrate the launch of Paul Simon’s new song Kodachrome from the album: There Goes Rhymin’ Simon in 1973, and I won the contest and an album; my first win as an author.

High School came and as a teen in a volatile world, I was thrilled when we were asked to keep a journal. We were marked on it, but I didn’t care what I wrote, or what my teacher thought of the words written. They had to come out. My writer’s mould was just about complete. I loved research, I loved books, I loved writing, and the thrill of fleshing out a story.

I wrote a fictional short story in grade 10 or 11 (I don’t remember exactly when). The teacher loved it. I remember she showed all the other teachers. They too loved it and congratulated me on a wonderful piece. From then on, I expanded my mind stories. Every experience, interaction, and emotion came into my mind as story – something I could write about. My journaling never stopped and continues to this day.

I went into Journalism after I graduated, but didn’t care for the ‘in your face’ reporting duties expected of a young journalist. It was at this time that I discovered my love for the graphics and printing industry. I had access to all the paper in the world. The smell of the ink was different, but the love of putting image to paper embedded itself in my career path.

So my writer’s mould was complete. My switch to a career in computers helped to bring my writing to the world. I still prefer pen to paper, but in the end to share, most works should be online.

Then it was from computers to a home based business, where my love of bears nudged my psyche and led to the publishing and editing of a teddy bear magazine for collectors and artists (Canadian Teddy Bear News). The want to preserve these great creatures is strong. They are my totem for healing the soul, just as I find the creation of dolls, and sculpting helped me to make my own mould of myself.

So, my writer’s mould is complete through a lifetime of writing. As each story, poem, novel, essay and journal piece is created, it is like my mould is filled with creativity, allowed to harden, separated from self, sanded, polished and fired, painted and coloured into separate creations where each one is similar with my own voice as writer. Each piece is from the same mould, yet each is unique, holding its own characteristics, its own beauty, its own meaning.

My writer’s mould is a lifelong journey. It is the essence of my being. It is me.
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