Re: New Thread--Who Inspired You

**l*@juno.com**

 Now to the creative side.  Who or what inspired you to write, speak 
> or perform?  From where did the spark or epiphany come?

I cannot remember a time when I wasn't reading (or writing) --- I still
have my two very different copies of "A Child's Garden of Verses" and my
favorite, "Bunny Blue." By the age of eight, I was attempting to write my
first screenplay --- a murder mystery. In high school, my 10th grade
English teacher sent home a note summoning my mother to a conference to
discuss what punishment I deserved for plagiarising my report --- high
praise from Mrs. Sutton; I knew right then I could really write. My
poetry-writing phase lasted through college. My unpublished collection is
still close at hand, though for my eyes only.

My speaking career began in 11th grade, when I at last stood up in front
of my peers to give an oral book report and burst into tears. Four years
later, I got my first real job in college --- delivering lectures in a
Planetarium. (It occurred to me that, perhaps I had a death wish). My
inspiration was my boss, a student five years my senior, who explained to
me that, so long as I knew one fact more than my audience, they would
consider me an expert. I had been studying astronomy since I was 12 and
had taken special summer courses at the Hayden Planetarium in Manhattan.
I knew plenty of facts.

While I longed for the glamorous world of publishing, Mom explained that
a degree in English would be worthless in the world of work. I graduated
with a degree in Geology instead (I did love it). But I never worked as a
geologist.

It's a long and twisted tale, but I've spent my entire life writing and
speaking: Planetarium lectures, radio shows, technical manuals,
newsletters, a newspaper column, teaching advertising and marketing
classes, cable TV, commercials, billboards, annual reports, grants, sales
and technical presentations, and now garden writing for magazines, my
blog, and when I find a publisher, my book.

My inspiration? Mom said, "You can't make a living doing that."

Lois J. de Vries
Visit http://loisdevries.blogspot.com
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