My niece, all of six, is a published author. Okay, okay, she’s published by Walmart’s print-on-demand imprint, and it’s a (quite lovely) story about a windy dragon. But the point is, her childhood musings have been commemorated and shared, and will be saved for all perpetuity.
Me? Not so much. I know that from a young age, I was a voracious reader, and that I at one point owned every edition of the original Baby-Sitters Club series. I know that, along with my sister Meena, I scribbled countless missives, all no doubt with flawless characterization, impressive arcs, and strong structure. But you’ll have to take my word for it. Because unlike Karma’s mom, my mom didn’t save any of them. Granted, she was busy running her own pediatrics practice and chasing three kids, but still. Really Mom? Not a single one?
The earliest scribblings of Sona Charaipotra that you’ll find are those from my teen years, when it began to occur to me that maybe I should save them myself. In those days, I was writing riffs on Norma Klein’s classic teen romances, all set in Upper West Side apartment buildings I never set foot in. Looking back, it’s interesting to note that all my characters were white, and all their romantic dilemmas were things that I had no clue about.
I also wrote some love-lorn poetry, which came in handy when I started my first YA novel, back when I was at the New School. Oddly, when we workshopped that particular piece in class, my professor said it sounded too teen. Go figure.
But the first complete work I have hails from college, when I started writing funky, circular short stories for a class on absurd works. They’re fun to go back and re-read, but it’s also embarrassing to see how far I’ve come.
In any case, all this is to say: I aim to be like Karma’s mom, and save every piece of storytelling genius that either of my kids ever comes up with. After all, they’re growing up in a house of writers. We know the good stuff when we see it.
Ha! Baby Sitters Club – I was a Sweet Valley High girl. The good old days. And your kids will be so lucky to have all those treasures.
Never did get into those Sweet Valley High girls. Maybe the good vs. bad was just too clearly delineated for me?
As for the treasures, I better get on buying a nice box, like Karma’s!
I have recently purchased a lovely box to house all my kiddo’s works of art — and at the end of each school year I go through it and turn some into art for the walls, save a few special pieces just because, and ditch the rest. We haven’t entered book-writing age yet, but I suspect it’s on the horizon and I can’t wait to get her first stories bound! Setting the goal is half the battle, right? 😉
Good for you! A friend of mine got a “book” her 10-year-old niece wrote her and she shows it to everyone she knows!
As soon as Kavya learns how to write more than her name, we’re totally going to put her to work on her first masterpiece! 🙂 She’s four. She’s ready!
Yes, see above. Putting “buy box” on my Wunderlist, STAT! 🙂
I don’t have any early scribblings either! Too many moves. I also wrote fiction for the first time in college. Didn’t go well:-)
Aw, Shelly, that’s too bad. But it must be fun to go back and re-read those college musings. One of mine had the title “Jars of Sauce.” Yes, really!
I used to read both Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley. Couldn’t get enough!
Susan, did you save any? I wonder how much first editions go for on e-Bay these days. My mom sold a big box of mine at a garage sale a few years ago.
I request a terrible teen poem to be posted! I have a notebook full of them from high school and they are so embarrassingly bad that they’re good.
Colleen, the poem is in a manuscript that’s waiting for attention. I’ll sneak you a peek when I get back to it!