Articles

THE HEART OF AN RWA® PRO (C) 2007
By Stacy Thompson

In an interview with Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey once asked what advice the author had for aspiring writers. When I heard the question, I held my breath and waited on pins and needles for the answer. Ms. Angelou is a master of the craft. So what was the secret behind her beautiful talent? I'll never forget her answer as long as I live. She replied with one word she repeated over and over again.

Read. Read. Read. Read.

In third grade, when I stood before the class to read aloud, I fumbled over the words I couldn't read. My friends would call them out to me. Some made fun of me. Others really were trying to help. One summer, my mom hired a tutor to help bring me up to speed. I read better after that, but that didn't make me a reader, much less a writer.

In fourth grade, Miss Atkinson noticed me writing poetry one day. Once a week, she would invite me to read some of what I'd written before the class, which felt much easier than reading something someone else had written.

At the age of eleven or twelve, I held in my hands a copy of The Story of My Life, an autobiography by Helen Keller. The words looked like white noise to me. I felt almost as deaf, dumb and blind as Helen when I thumbed through its pages. There seemed to be so many. I couldn't fathom having the ability to read the entire book from start to finish. I don't recall why I felt that way. I just recall that I did. Even then, I marveled at the skill it must've taken to write a book.

When I took a course on the Bible in college, Dr. Turney would call upon me to read aloud from the King James Version. It always felt like forever before he would tell me I could stop. He knew. He'd seen the likes of me before and believed the simple act of reading aloud helped improve one's reading skills. Still, as one biblical person begot another, and yet another, I struggled over every pronunciation. His effort for me is not something I'll ever forget and I always think of him fondly.

Later, when I was pregnant with my first child, I would pull a chair close to my empty crib, prop up my feet and read aloud. When my baby kicked at the sound of my voice, I knew he must've enjoyed the tale. I did the same for my second baby. As my children grew older, I read stories to them every day, then again at bedtime. As their reading levels rose, so did mine.

One summer, I read Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. This was the first novel I'd ever read - cover to cover. I was about twenty-six at the time. I loved the story, and from then on read every Bronte sisters novel I could get my hands on. Then I started reading romance novels. Still, I marveled at the ability it must've taken to write a book. So what was there to stop me from trying?

Nothing.

I took writing courses and turned to RWA® friends for words of advice. Then… lo and behold… I finished my first novel. I pitched to an editor at an RWA® conference and shook in my boots when I did. It's been read and rejected with a few positive remarks. But, by golly, I wrote a book.

Wishing you could write a book doesn't write one. Writing one does. Wishing you could publish it won't make it so. Believing you can will. Now I'm an RWA® PRO and I wear my PRO pin with a deep sense of accomplishment in my heart.

Indeed, Maya Angelou was right. Because I read a book, I finally wrote a book too.

Stacy Thompson had just finished writing the final chapters of her first manuscript when hurricane Katrina soaked her home. While taking a break in her FEMA trailer the following winter, she decided she'd definitely earned a treat, so she gave herself the gift of a Romance Writers of America® membership. And what a gift it turned out to be. She attended the Atlanta conference in 2006, where she met a few RWA® members from the Gulf Coast Chapter. When she returned home, she joined her local chapter and has found the experience of being a member to be truly enriching. Stacy is currently revising Baby Vamp, a period historical set in 1923 Southern Mississippi and has begun working on Lillian's Wish, a second historical set in 1890 Southern Mississippi. With the generous support and advice from GCCRWA members, she embraces the opportunity to grow as a writer. To learn more about Stacy, you can visit her blog at http://greenappleribbons.blogspot.com