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Monday, February 13, 2012

Origins...




I believe it started in the bedroom I used to share with my little sister, the one with the strawberry wallpaper and the closet that never got me into Narnia no matter how many times I tried to get in.

Back then, my little sister and I used to tell each other stories, to pass the time until we were sleepy, and the game was this: come up with three titles, let the other person pick which one she wanted to hear, and tell the story. Most of the titles were easy to imagine a story for, like, The House in the Woods, or The Witch's Cat, or The Last Princess (I'm making these up by the way - I honestly don't remember a single title or story). But I remember always trying to try to make one title sound more interesting than the others because it was the one that gave me an instant idea. And usually, this worked; my sister would pick the correct title and get a half-way decent off-the-cuff story made up by a 12 year old. But sometimes she would pick the wrong title, the one I had no clue what it was about, and I'd  have to come up with something.Which I did.
   After I graduated to paper and pen, most of my efforts were cheap copies of things I'd read, like the story I wrote about a girl who tamed a wild horse. But others were downright imaginative, like the Thanksgiving essay I wrote in 5th grade from the turkey's point of view or THE PEARL MOUSE, which I co-authored with my best friend Dawn D'onofrio, in 6th grade, or the overly dramatic HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY (which did not end well for Cathy I can tell you).
    Anyway, I think I've always wanted to tell stories, even from the time I was young enough to get sent to bed early - a punishment my sister relished because that meant we could entertain one another until we fell asleep. And while it's been a long time since I got sent to bed early, or had to come up with a story in seconds, I guess I'm still playing that game.
     I'm just a little better at it now :)

36 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had some fun times writing and telling stories with your sister and your friend. Thanks for sharing. And I bet you're lots better at writing now.

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    1. We did. I think it's one of those special things we shared.

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  2. OK, I want to read the essay from the turkey's pov AND Happy Birthday Cathy. I like this vaguely sinister edge of yours :)

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    1. I would love to be able to read my turkey essay again. Unfortunately my parents didn't save anything :(

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  3. I remember you telling me this story, over coffee at Panera Bread. :) Thanks for sharing it again!!

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  4. I was going to say that I never made up stories out loud, only in paper. Then I slapped my head and remembered. Of course I did. My brother and I used to play for hours with his Star Trek dolls. That was making up stories out loud, wasn't it?

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  5. Awwwww what lovely memories about you and your sister telling stories late into the night and just having a great time of creating tales!! Thanks for sharing and good luck with your grown up writerly journey now! Take care
    x

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  6. awe, so cute about sharing stories. I do that with my kids sometimes before bed. Their names are Lily, Julie and Lucy so every story has to start with 'once upon a time there was a princess Lily, a princess Julie and a princess Lucy...' You get the gist:) lol Thanks for sharing your origins!

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    1. Your girls are lucky to have a story telling mom, I think :)

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  7. You were lucky to have such a great sister to share stories with. My sister and I shared a room but all we ever did was fight.

    Glad you started writing those stories down!!

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    1. We waited til we were older to fight :)

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  8. What an awesome idea for a bedtime story! Sounds like you had a great childhood.

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    1. The story-telling part was definitely fun, but the getting sent to bed early part - not so much.

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  9. We had an armoire...it never led to Narnia either. I'm still looking. Greta origin story!

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    1. Dammit! I always wanted an armoire. Still do!

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  10. How fun and what great memories with your sister! It is great that part of you never left and you just keep getting better with time. :-)

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    1. She was a great little sister - I was the not always nice older sister. I'm lucky she forgives me!

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  11. What a great story, Marcy. I've always been a great bedtime story maker-upper, too. (Hard to believe I'm doing it for my grandchildren now!) Too bad your parents didn't save any of your early efforts at writing. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I know, I so wish I had those two stories. I imagine the turkey one wouldn't be as funny as I think, but I'll bet I'd get a laugh out of the Cathy story, which ended so tragically (for Cathy - and on her birthday no less!). I guess even back then I liked to mess with my characters.

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  12. I love this story. I used to imagine my own stories to put myself to sleep. How fun it would have been with one of my sisters too!

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  13. Just how did the story from the turkey's point of view end?
    Thanks for participating in the blogfest.

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    1. I wish I knew. It was so long ago I can't remember, only that it was funny - to a 5th grader.

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  14. Already a follower (and a first impressions participant!). Always enjoy your blogposts (and photos!).

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  15. As a testament to your gift I STILL remember the sickening crunch in Happy Birthday Cathy.

    xo

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  16. What fun! It sounds like you had a very creative childhood. Great to get to your your origin story, Marcy!

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  17. I used to do basically the same thing with my friends from the neighborhood...making up our own episodes of LOST IN SPACE or THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT. We all contributed, but some of us (mostly me) led the pack with story idea's. You and your sister were cultivating the imagination you would put to good use as a writer. Thank you for sharing that ORIGIN story with us! :)

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  18. I wish I did more storytelling as a kid. Most of the ideas were in my head and I didn't figure out until later to write it all down. Great Origin story.

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  19. you made me miss my sister and those innocent days!
    great beginning!

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  20. That was a GREAT origin story.ha I want to know what happened to Cathy too!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  21. what fun you and your sister must've had! Hope you remember some of those stories and write them down :)
    great to meet you through this blogfest.

    your newest follower,
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. Most of those old ones are forgotten but I've got lots of new ones :)

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  22. That was a great story! I didn't participate in this one, but now I'm thinking I should have...

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  23. I miss my sister so much related on this!

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