Sharon Dow

Once the decision to write had been made, it was down to business, enjoyable business, but still business.

One day during the last year before I retired, I was reading chapter two of the book of Revelation when I came across a name I hadn’t noticed before. Christ is talking to the church of Pergamum and says, “. . . even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city, where Satan lives.”

Antipas, interesting name, but I didn’t know anything else about him. I checked for other references in the Bible: none. I checked historical sites: minimal information. Something deep inside me said, “This is it!” I knew I had my story.

I started to write. Quite literally that is what I did. I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t develop characters beforehand, I didn’t work out a plot; I just wrote. The story was inside of me, in its entirety. I just had to get it on paper.

The writing was pure joy. I would sit at my computer and the story poured out. I never knew ahead of time what would happen that day. I often would sit back and say, “I didn’t know that was going to happen.” I know this is not the way everyone writes, nor will it be the way I always write. But for this book, for this time, that is the way it happened. Once the characters were established, they seemed to take on a life of their own and whisper their story to me. I just tried to get it down as truthfully as possible.

The story took unexpected twists and turns as the events unfolded. I researched names so my characters would fit in to the times in which they were living. I researched customs and clothing styles of the day, camel caravans and care of camels, cities he would visit so I would have a feel for the marketplaces and other interesting sites, the god of the times, and their places of worship just to name a few. I learned many new things and incorporated things I had known forever. History lessons of the past came back with their information ready to be placed in the manuscript. (Special thanks to my high school history teachers. I’m glad I paid attention in your classes!) The book would be a combination of fact and fiction.

The exciting thing about being the author of historical fiction is that you can work with the known facts, but you can also adjust those facts to fit your characters and your story. This blend is acceptable and desirable to help your story flow and be believable.

Over 120,000 words later, it was done. I had found my genre. I was comfortable. It was a fit. This is not surprising as historical fiction is most often my reading choice. I have steeped myself in it for years.

So when you write, choose what’s comfortable. Write from your heart using all the experiences that have made up the pages of your life. Follow your interests; let your mind show you the way. But most of all, just write.

I finished my career as an educator two years ago, so that means I’m retired, right?

Wrong! What it means is that I now work for myself. I do things that have been dreams for many years. But I didn’t arrive at my current schedule overnight.

I love organization. I love being organized. So, it seemed a natural progression for me to seek to organize the things I hoped to accomplish. I had seen the movie, The Bucket List, and decided I needed my own bucket list. For those of you who are not familiar with the expression, it is a list of things you would like to accomplish before you die (or kick the bucket, as the expression goes). That became job number one. I must say that I was surprised at some of the items that ended up on my list!

Some of the things on my list are:

• Visit Moscow
• Publish a book
• Learn to ride a horse
• Learn to swim properly
• Take a conversational French course
• Work on my Masters Degree
• Drive on the 401
• Get over my fear of snakes

I finished my list and went, “wow”. How can I ever do all that? Then I remembered how to eat an elephant, “one bite at a time.” Which “elephant” should I tackle first? I checked the list carefully, loosely putting things in order of priority. Which would be most fulfilling? Which would fill my time in a purposeful manner? We’ve talked about a trip to Moscow and it doesn’t look impossible. In another couple of years, that may happen. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to get over the snake fear, because it would mean coming into contact with “them”. How would the master’s degree help me at this point in my life? I can live without driving on the 401.

There was no question in my mind that publishing a book should be the first one. I think it is the one I most desire. So the decision was made. For all you aspiring writers; remember to make the decision first; don’t worry about what your topic will be or how you’ll ever get enough words on paper, or who will publish it. Make the decision to write. Once that is made, the other things will fall into place.

And keep reading my blog postings. I will lead you step by step along my personal writing journey.

After being in the classroom for several years, it was time for a change of direction in my career. I was still enjoying teaching, but a new opportunity presented itself and I felt inclined to pursue it. I was offered the position of Vice-Principal in the same school, still teaching grade 6, but being relieved two half days a week to do vice-principal duties in the office. I very quickly discovered I loved administrative work.

I looked forward to these times in the office, visiting the classrooms, working with students from other classes, and doing whatever presented itself. I felt I had the ideal position and would continue with the combination until I retired.

Alas that was not to be. Early in the second year of vice-principal work, I was approached to consider taking over as Principal the following September. This was not in my life-plan. I had never yearned for the post, never desired it, never even considered it. A few years earlier I had been asked, but had flatly refused. It was not what I wanted.

Decisions have a way of making themselves without much help from us, so I found myself in the office behind the big desk, come September. What words could describe those first few weeks? Overwhelming, confusing, intimidating, frightening are a few that come to mind. But school managed to start on the day designated and I survived the first day. I could identify with the little JK’s coming in, I felt the same.

Were there things I liked about the job? Absolutely!

·        Students: They were, for the most part, one of the main areas of enjoyment. Sure they misbehaved, but they always came through with respect. There were times when it was difficult not to smile, when the same faces would appear, for the same misdemeanor. They would peek through my door, looks of remorse on their faces and I would say, ‘Not again?’ I got to know some of them very well. We spent much time together.

·        Classrooms: I also enjoyed visiting the classrooms where my learning continued. I would see new and innovative things being utilized by other staff members. It was always fun to listen in on lessons and watch the students interact with the teacher and with each other.

·        Yard Duty: Believe it or not, one of my favourite things to do was to put on coat, gloves, and boots and exit the front door for a time supervising the playground. I especially enjoyed the early morning duties when the students were arriving. It was a time to set a good tone for the day, and to greet both students and their parents.

·        Office Work: I loved filling out forms, creating new forms to be used, working on the budget for the coming year, interviewing prospective staff members; all the things that would come across my desk in a day.

One thing I promised you and myself is that I would be totally honest in what I put in this blog. There were areas of the job that were stress-laden and caused me pain. I had many sleepless nights as I tried to deal with the stresses. I’m sorry to say that angry parents were the greatest cause of my grief. The proverbial buck stops at the principal’s chair.

But did I learn? Of course!

• Computer skills: I came into the computer world ‘kicking and screaming’ as the expression goes. Thanks to my Administrative Assistant, I learned. She patiently answered my questions, walked me through things, got me out of difficulties when I would make mistakes, and generally encouraged me. I am continuing to hone these skills and without them, I would never have been able to write my books. An aside note here; when I was in high school, we had to take a typing course. I hated it and did not use the skill very often over the years. But when I decided I was going to learn to use the computer, I remembered the finger positions which greatly assisted me. Amazing how something I didn’t want to do, paid dividends many years later!
• Everything is not my fault: That was a hard lesson for me. I took everything personally. Every criticism made to me and about me, every threat, every name, every rumor; I hugged them closely. I had to learn to back up and realize that I didn’t need to take all the stress personally.
• Writing: I did get to write. I wrote a column for each monthly newsletter. I had many encouraging comments about them which gave me the courage to begin my books.

Would I have made the same decision if I had known what the job would be like? No, for the stress level; yes, for what I learned that I could not have learned in any other situation. There are many ways to learn. Stress is the hard way; but it can be effective. If you are in a stressful situation right now, see what is in it for you to learn and then embrace the learning.

The next ten years of my life were spent teaching bright and beautiful minds. I found myself being challenged to enrich my lessons, find new and interesting ways to communicate, while allowing time and effort to assist those who were struggling. In any classroom there are a variety of levels of understanding, as well as a wide range of effort put forth by the students. It’s a test of being “all things to all people”.

Early in my teaching career I had promised myself that I would not ever teach the same curriculum the same way a second year. I remember teachers from my own education pathway who would use the same tests and assignments year after year. It’s tempting to do that, but it holds no rewards. So, each summer I would revamp my subjects, adding different approaches, new material, changing assignments, updating information, whatever it took to make it fresh. I came to love these sessions during the summer.

I loved my classes. It’s a toss-up whether grade 6 or grade 8 is the best grade to teach. For me, I love grade 6 but grade 8 gets a slight edge. I learned so much from my grade 8’s.

Things I learned from Grade 8 students:

1. Hug people when they need it. The human touch is important for our development.
2. Accept hugs from others. This is a sign of acceptance and a reaching out from others.
3. Be loyal to your peers. This pays big dividends for you.
4. Always help a person when they’re down and they’ll help you when you need it.
5. Be sensitive to the feelings of others. Someone may need your help but may be too shy to ask.
6. Be certain of what is right and what is wrong and stick to it no matter what.
7. Don’t forget to have fun. Life is a journey, enjoy it.
8. Work hard when you need to.

Sill no time to write, but the dream never died. I marked some amazing things over those few years, and some of those students are now writing things of their own. I know I will soon be reading works from former students.

If you have the dream to write, but not the time; just wait patiently, your time will come. There are other things for you to do now. Do them with all your heart but don’t ever let the dream die.