by Rebecca Foster

Created on: October 05, 2007

Too old to write? Not as long as these old arthritic fingers can still hunt and peck on a keyboard!

I've always had a good imagination and have made up stories for years. I just never thought I'd be able to convey what I thought to paper (or monitor). It never occurred to me that anyone else would want to read what I wrote.

With children to be raised and working a full-time job, I felt that there wasn't enough time to try to write anything of value. I read a lot, and would often mentally rewrite what I was reading to give it a different twist. I would buy magazines like Writers Digest and Writers Journal and wish I could write too. I thought, 'I used to write A+ reports in high school and college, why can't I write now?'

I finally joined the website Writing.com, got up the nerve to post a few stories, and got positive feedback. I was ecstatic! Here I was in my 50's and finally getting a little recognition. I let a few friends read some stories and was told they were good. But I shied away from non-fiction. Non-fiction deals with facts. With fiction you make up your own facts. Could I get back into doing research? Thank God for the internet! I'd never be able to fact-find without it.

Now, as I approach 60, I find that I do still love to do research. I enjoy learning about things, and researching and writing about things I am not familiar with gives me a sense of accomplishment. My kids and grandkids are proud of me. I'M proud of me. I could have just wished I could write and not done anything about it, but I'm so glad I decided to try. I've finally realized one of my lifelong dreams, to be a professional writer.

Too old to write? Bah, humbug!

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