by Debbie McNaughton

On a wintry night in January 2012, I started an adult evening class called “So, You Want to Write a Book.” I was looking for direction to follow a dream I’d set aside since 1995; the last time I’d had a short story published nationally.

Did I want to spend years writing a book? I wasn’t sure. Yet, it was essential to me to find the confidence and the strength to believe in myself again.

The instructor asked us to introduce ourselves and then we were told to add, “I am a writer.”

I’d kept journals for years, documenting my soul’s pains over raising a special needs daughter, despair of married life with an alcoholic, and the metamorphic freedom of divorce.

I did not consider those the qualifications to be a writer. You need an MFA or at least a born talent, I told myself.

“My name is Debbie, I am a writer,” I said with hesitation.

It was a goal I could attain once the juices of artistic inspiration swept away the cobwebs that had settled in my mind for over a decade. I needed validation, and that meant publication.

“You’re a creative wordsmith,” my friend, a freelancer, told me. “It’s your time. Write what you know and read your stories in class.”

I penned a trilogy about my daughter.

Thirty years had passed since her birth so I wrote of our struggles, strengths and joys. I spent five days writing one single page, 750 words re-written over and over, to bring one saga into my next class.

My heart was beating when it was my turn to read. Eight women, all my peers, focused their attention on me.
“This is a memoir, titled: “Three Pounds Five Ounces,” I said.

My voice cracked into the first sentence. I couldn’t read as tears welled up. I sat frozen, unable to speak.

A hand reached over and touched mine, took the paper and continued my story for me.

A few months later, I attended a preview of classes to inspire creativity offered by Nicola Burnell, Publisher of Cape Women Online. Over coffee, I briefed her on my background and pitched a series I’d written on life with a special needs child.

“Send me a story when you get home. I’d like to read it,” she said.

I paused at the computer that evening. Would this submission give me the assurance I so needed, to declare myself…a writer? Am I capable enough to be really poignant and so “human” to have people read my work and say, “God, this hits home!”

The next morning, Nicola’s response was positive.

The Summer 2012 issue of Cape Women Online featured my byline and Three Pounds Five Ounces in the Life Stories section.

Chicken Soup for the Soul had a call for submissions in 2013 for a new book: Find Your Inner Strength, 101 empowering stories of resilience, and overcoming challenges, to be published in 2014.

Three Pounds Five Ounces fit the criteria, and again I found myself doubtful.

Go for it Deb, I thought. So, you’re one writer in a thousand… carpe diem, push send!

Thank you, Nicola, for your encouragement. Cape Women gave my written words the catalyst to travel internationally and launched one small story to inspire others worldwide.

Follow your life’s path. Take a class. It’s never too late to let your creative spirit soar!

Publisher’s Note:

Thank you, Debbie, for sharing this story with us. I work with writers every day and understand the fear that comes with facing the blank page. Your courage paves the way for others to follow!