When I was a child, I loved to read, and the first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was a writer*. I finally took my first creative writing course in the mid-nineties through the invitation of a colleague at work. We attended an offering through a local community center. Kathy Mayer, a Lafayette business woman with her own desktop publishing firm, taught the class. She was part of a larger writers community who loved to encourage and nurture the craft in the Lafayette area. They even sponsored professional workshops with visiting authors. My colleague and I attended one of these, and I ended up in a newly formed writers group as a result. The classes were so liberating. I also found that skills and strategies learned in tackling writing projects applied equally well to other endeavors at work and in life. These days I even find myself venturing into poetry!
If you aspire to write but feel you need a little help and inspiration in getting started, or that the road is kind of lonely, I recommend that you find and become a member of a supportive writers group. Lafayette area residents can call the Tippecanoe Arts Federation to inquire about existing groups. Of course there are also more and more resources on the web.
There are many excellent books on writing. I am no expert, but I can recommend three books off the bat that I personally have found very helpful
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Finding Your Writer's Voice by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
*In small ways, I have gradually acheived my childhood dream by getting published in various editorial sections of newspapers and magazines and also in the book More Random Acts of Kindness by Conari Press (along with several other people from the Greater Lafayette Community). Now in 2017, I have published an ebook A Furniture Refinisher's Newsletter which is currently available for purchase at Amazon and at Google Play Books).
