Wanting to Write...

I have always wanted to write a book and I keep saying that. I can remember clearly standing in my living room when I use to live in NJ saying this to my father. He had just finished reading a report that I had written. He said it was good but my grammar was terrible.

My father always gripped about how there were too many illiterate people out there, the schools fail to teach English properly, and not enough of it. Now, you are talking about the 1970s here that he made that statement to me.

My parents shoved so much English tutoring down my throat you would think I can write properly by now. I know, I am very conscience of my writing, and if I am using it properly. Am I putting the commas in the right place would be one example. My father always said the best thing to do is to read what you wrote out loud. If I am reading my sentence without taking a breath, there has to be a comma put some where. I don't know if that rule of thumb still applies or if anyone has ever heard of it.

You see, my father is a genius. He was tested when he was young. He skipped several grades. He has a photographic memory.

My father did a lot of interviewing job applications when he worked at Mobil Oil Corp. in NY, and he was so disgusted with the many applications he had to view. The people that were applying for the job had gone to good colleges, and they couldn't spell right. He couldn't understand it. So, when it was my time to go to college he pressed more English on me, and he actually drove from CT to NJ to talk to the counselors and made them tutor me in more English. I was in the office with him when he was talking to my counselor. I remember my counselor saying to him that the college didn't offer grammar. This really pissed my father right off. So, he said to the counselor that she was going to tutor me and he would be glad to pay what ever fee for this. So, again, I got more English shoved at me.

This brings me to the point of telling my father how I wanted to be a writer. I can still visualize him standing in front of me saying "And, how do you propose to do that when your grammar stinks?" Of course, me being a smart ass said "Why do you think we have editors?"

I see in blogspot we have many people who are writers. Perhaps I can take some advice, pay attention, and learn something from all the fantastic writers that I have read so far here on blogspot. I didn't even know what some of the writer's were talking about when they had abbreviated NNWM. So, I had clinked onto a link that lead me there. I can't even imagine trying to write a 175 pg. novel in one month. Talk about pressure.