Monday, February 13, 2012

The ORIGINS Blogfest

This awesome blogfest is hosted by DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude 2.0. He's a comic book fan. Hey, I'm a comic book fan too! I love reading about the origins of heroes and even the villains. The mythology behind it all, the dark pasts, and the freaky nuclear accidents.

Here's what DL Hammons writes about the blogfest: On Monday, February 13th, you should post your own origin story.  Tell us all where your writing dreams began.  It could be anything from how you started making up stories as a child, or writing for the school newspaper, or even what prompted you to start a blog.  How about stories about the first time somebody took an interest in your writing, or the teacher/mentor that helped nudge you along and mold your passion, or maybe the singular moment when you first started calling yourself a writer.  It all started somewhere and we want you to tell us your own, unique, beginnings.

CHRISTINE RAINS - THE BEGINNING

I grew up in a small Canadian town with a troubled history. The only claims to fame we had were the great flour mill fire of '64 and the villains who clawed their way up to bigger crimes in the province's capital city. And by clawed, I mean they used their claws. Werebadgers like to live out in the country hills.

I lived on the poor side of town right beside a cemetery. The cemetery was our playground. I loved that place. It fueled my imagination for all sorts of scary stories. Sometimes the stories I wrote came true.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. All my stories weren't scary.

I wrote a poem about the moon when I was five years old. It informed the reader there were holes on the moon, but no trees or cars. It won a prize at the local fall fair. My infamous short story series about The Kingham Kids was my real beginning as a writer. I was seven and the first stories were only a few pages long in my childish handwriting. The first one was about a tornado. My brother, our two neighbors, and I managed to out-ride it on our bicycles. My stories began to grow in length, and I added in more of the kids in the neighborhood. We were a gang. A gang that went on adventures, saved babies and puppies, and banished the bad guys. All the kids would wait impatiently as I wrote the stories and then sit eagerly while I read it to them.

I always loved reading and writing. Yet it was through The Kingham Kids that I really fell in love with being a writer. It was an indescribable joy to write the stories and have my audience captivated by them. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to write books. No, I didn't just want to do it, I needed to do it.

My mutant power erupted when I hit puberty and I lost all confidence in myself. I could only turn my limbs invisible. It wasn't enough to impress Bad Horse. The werebadgers sucked out my power in one universe, and, in another, it was the secret government ray guys zapping mutant genes when they cross land borders. Or it could have been when I was battling zombie Trudeau. (Comic books. Yeah, so many different universes and reboots. Can't keep them straight.) 

I still feel that joy when I write. Some stories take more work than others, but it goes with being a writer. I still feel the need to write, and though I have always been writing, it's only in these past few years that I've gained the confidence and knowledge of how to make my dream of being a published author come true.

Hm. Perhaps something good did come out of that little town.

I want a cape and cowl now.

Please join me on Thursday for a great giveaway celebrating over 200 followers!

78 comments:

  1. I'm caught by the image of your friends sitting and listening to you read. I hid my writing when I was young, not even my mum knew for sure what I was doing until I was a little bit older.

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    1. I hid my writing when I got older, but I'm finding that joy again letting the world read what I write.

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  2. I love hearing the specific childhood books that inspired writers when they were older!

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    1. I remember reading Nancy Drew and there was a line of books called Twilight (similar to Goosebumps but more intense) that I loved. I moved on to Stephen King at ten. He has been a big influence on me.

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  3. I really would like to see a rendering of a "werebadger." You must be tough to have survived living in such close proximity to them!

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    1. Badgers are tough little critters. They're fierce were-creatures! I just stayed out of the hills and let the mutant swans from the lake fight with them.

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  4. One cape, coming up! Ha! Great entry, Christine.

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  5. I love your story...and the cape...I tried ordering one for me but they have a waiting list till 2015. :)

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    1. Ha! I borrow my son's cape. It's short on me, but that was the fashion back in the day with Wonder Woman. Thanks!

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  6. Of course, YOU would have an awesome Origins Story.

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  7. All that from playing in a cemetery - I'm impressed!

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    1. Thanks! I loved that cemetery. There was a frog pond in the summer and great hills in the winter. And lots of really old headstones where most of the writing had been worn away, leaving so many mysteries.

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  8. Awesome story! I really enjoyed it. I love that your childhood adventures were what inspired you.

    New follower *waves*

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  9. I want a cape too. My origin story also involves them :) Guess we writers all do have the best sort of imagination.

    Love your origin story.

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    1. Thanks! And we writers are cool like that. *grins*

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  10. I'm like Laura, the mental image of the neighborhood kids waiting you to finish a story for you to tell is something special! This is the type of story I envisioned hearing when I thought up this crazy blogfest, so thank you for fulfilling my dream! :)

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    1. You're welcome and thank you for hosting the blogfest. It's been amazing so far! I love reading all the stories.

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  11. Holy smokes, Batgirl! Love the pic. Also love your bicycle gang story. Funny how all those growing-up memories stay with us, even when writing. Nice to meet you!

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    1. Thanks! I must say, I don't think I was ever a great cyclist to be able to outrun a tornado, but we're all superheroes in our own stories. :) A pleasure to meet you too.

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  12. And a cape and cowl you deserve! Neighborhood kids are the best gangs, aren't they? Love your story.

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    1. They are! It would be cool if we could all wear capes as part of the gang. Thanks!

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  13. I love reading my stories to an audience of one, my heart stuck in my throat to see if they'll laugh at the funny parts, tear up at the sad ~ A storyteller's dream!

    So nice to *meet* you here at the Fest, Christine! Love your Origins!!

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    1. Thank you! It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm terrified about reading in front of people now, but I still like to know there's an audience out there reading my words.

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  14. Hi Christine!

    I'm dropping by from the origins blogfest. I love your origins story! i hope you framed that story about the moon, it was certainly a good forecast of your writing career.
    Your newest follower,
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. Thank you and welcome! I have the poem in my book of school memories.

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  15. Oh, what a great story. I loved imagining you reading to your neighborhood gang, how fun. Glad you found your confidence again! I think I'm going to get my own cape now too. :)

    Congrats on 200 followers, that's awesome.

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    1. Thank you! Does gaining one's confidence automatically come with the cape?!

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  16. Good for you! Wow. Your Origin story is an actual STORY. My neighborhood gang was pretty rough, so I had to read and write in secret.

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    1. Thanks! I was lucky to have a good gang of kids to hang out with. The rest of my hometown was really rough too.

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  17. Oh my! Your first short story and poem sound so great! I definitely love the idea behind the short story!

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  18. Wow, you really started early in life as a writer. And with such success!!

    Also, I really want a Batgirl cape and mask. :))

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    1. There's no Batgirl like the original Batman series Batgirl. :)

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  19. What a great start. How fun. I really enjoyed learning more about your writing origins.

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    1. Thanks! This blogfest has been a lot of fun learning about everyone. :)

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  20. oh man, do you still have those kingham kids stories? Because that is totally awesome!

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    1. I do have all the stories. I looked at them a year or so ago, and boy, were they horrible! Yet kind of cute in the way it is when a kid is writing a story.

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  21. Enjoying what you do is key and it's clear that you enjoy what you do.

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  22. Your lively imaginations comes through in every paragraph. Sounds like you have the background for some great stories. Nice to know your origins.

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    1. Thanks! It was fun remembering and sharing everyone's origins.

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  23. Go, Batgirl! So happy you got the confidence back. Those Kingham Kids stories sound awesome! I'm sure all your neighbors still remember them too. Great origins story.

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    1. They actually do remember the stories! The few old neighborhood kids I still do stay in contact with over Facebook always ask when I'm going to write a novel and have it made into a movie!

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  24. Wonderful story! And I want a cowl, too. :P

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  25. You were a child prodigy!
    Which small town in Canada did you grow up in? I was born in Victoria B.C. and lived in Prince George for a while.
    Thanks for sharing your story. : )

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    1. I grew up in southern Ontario. Yet I did live in Vancouver for a year after I graduated from college. Loved it out there.

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  26. I love how many people were inspired to be writers since they were kids.

    I'm curious, too, which town you're from. I live in Canada, too.

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    1. I grew up on southern Ontario. A wee town near Guelph. If you're from that area, you'll know "it's worth the drive to _____!"

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  27. You are a true badass super hero with the power of story as your weapon. What a great and inspiring origin tale. I love the Kingham Kids. :)

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    1. Thank you! Makes me feel like one of the superheroes on Super Why! Yeah, I watch too much children's programming.

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  28. Very cool origins story... still amazed you grew up next to a cemetery... probably would have been something I wanted as I grew up... Loving the superhero...

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    1. Thanks! I loved that cemetery. So much to keep me busy there.

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  29. Wonderful origins story. I want to hear more about this werebadger...

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  30. You are an awesome storyteller. Congrats on the 200 follower milestone.

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  31. What cool origins :) Well done you for picking up the pen so early... love the visual of the kids waiting for you to finish a story :)

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    1. Thanks! You can just see them going: "Are you done yet?" "Are you done yet?" "Are you done now?"

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  32. Great origins story Christine! I so want a cape too! :)

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  33. It sounds like something fantastic came out of that little town.

    Love the story - and cape all the way!

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  34. I don't think you could have contained your characters if you'd tried ;-) Good luck, keep at it!

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    1. Thanks! I think our characters have minds of their own.

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  35. You have the coolest origins story. :) And yay for 200 followers.

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    1. Thank you! Hopefully the giveaway will rouse some excitement.

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  36. That's an awesome story! :)

    Congratulations on 200+ Followers!

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    1. Thanks! Don't forget the giveaway this Thursday. :)

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  37. Excellent on the cape. It would look dashing on you. Christine-Super Paranormal Romance writer. :) Now I see where your love of paranormal comes from. Neat that you wrote a series of stories in 7th grade.

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    1. Thank you! I think living next to a cemetery either makes you enthralled with the paranormal like me or not wanting to have anything to do with it like my brother!

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  38. I just love gruesome tales, and your story was very interesting. I hope that you don't mind if I tag along for awhile ...

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    1. Hi and welcome! I'm happy to have you tag along. :)

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  39. Love this story, Christine! It's so great to find out how many of us writers started young. I think it's something we're born with, definitely!

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    1. Thanks! Oh yes, we're born writers. We might as well just put on the cape and pick up a pen and save the world!

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  40. Just now getting around to blog visits. We used to play in cemetaries too. They're so eerie and exciting at the same time!

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  41. Hi, PK,

    I removed my post, but it can be found on the 2nd or 3rd page of my blog. sorry, I thought the viewing was over. It's entitled Play the Game.

    Peace,

    Jackie

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  42. That kind of town that you grown up make you stronger and tough! In this
    world gangster is all over the place...

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    1. Hehehe! Yes, gangster. That's me! I wear my flannel pajama bottoms low when I'm around the house and get down with DJ Jazzy Jeff on Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm deadly.

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