When people ask why I became a writer, my flip answers are “I ran out of room on my walls for needlepoint” or “Otherwise I’d have to do housework.” I never intended to be a writer. I didn’t study creative writing in college. I had a well-worn AARP card before I gave writing a thought. Although I’ve always been an avid reader (my parents tell people we had to move when I was 12 because I’d finished the local library), the closest I came to writing fiction was “rewriting” books in my head so the characters would do what I wanted. My first novel was supposed to be a mystery, but my daughters told me it was a romance, which I found strange, because I’d never read one. Through a rather convoluted process triggered when my son visited and told me about a television show he thought was cool, which led to me discovering fan fiction and trying my hand at it, and then wondering if I could write an original story, I found I enjoyed the writing process and getting involved with my characters (who didn’t always do what I wanted). My characters let me explore worlds I’d have no chance of reaching without them. Being able to transport myself, and I hope, my readers, away from their everyday lives is why I keep writing. I can’t imagine not writing.

https://terryodell.com/

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