Expert: Cathy Clamp - 3/31/2008

Question
QUESTION: there are some observations happened to my live need to know is that a signs got author or screen writing & story writing talents

- @ 7 year ages , my teacher told my parents that I m intellgent but have a problem , usally contemplating & dont attention to lessons

- @ 7 year  ages too , I was waiting for my school bus for more than 3 hours without feeling bored with time , I detected after that , the bus was pass infront of me

- all my friends , collegues told me we never bored by sitting with you & talking with you , all of them stated that they didnt realize time with me moreover I have the ability to talk & imagine
narrat for more than 7 hour (without bore)


thirdly
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I m writing poems , joy that too much , specially poems related to drama , story for instance ( a man talking with moon , trees , dusk , sun & also they talking with him & also I impostered the confuse with a person talk with me & also depression , frustrations as evil persons with fighting
conversation

fourth
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if I will write each story I imagine , so I have to keep a note book & pen with me from a moment of waking up until sleeping (I imagine scenes & conversations until working , walking , roving , watching tv)

why that happen ?


last thing
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I had a feeling which I want the world share my feeling , emotions , thoughts

whats the interpretation ?


Imagining a story , incident , scenes is easy for me but the problem is in writing that for long times , specially I m suffering from a disease called hyperhydrosis (sweating in hands) which annoy me on writing , so can you recommend me a pen which can comfort me on writing or pencil
also which type of paper may I use ? (I m left hand writer)


how to condemn even my talent is just a hobby or have to be my proffession ?

I have something called photographic memory (I may remeber an incident with odour of the air)

is that may a good factor to aid me on writing ?


last problem I confuse , my parents blame me on my arts tending (poems , stories , music , directoring) tell me thats a bull shit &  trivial , just a hobbies only can amuse me on spare
time , beacasue I m an engineer , they think the future is in engineer , comment please

I hate employing in a job , I like to do what I want in the time I want without constraints



I m awfully sorry for prelong but , I m afraid from tricking myself as a talent  & also afraid to buired my talent if exist , so I need guidence


wish to hear from you soon
thanks

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is writing stores , scenarios , poems , music senstivity , recording videos, acting , narrating
& & also power knowledge in marketing & business managment

is being good factors to access the advertising media world ?

how can I access that world , speically I m an engineer , havent a degree in media , is my talents enough to access this media ?

wish to hear from you soon
thanks


ANSWER: Hi, JC!

Wow, lots and lots of questions, but they all boil down to this:

Can you, as an engineer, also be a writer?

The answer is simple: Sure.

You don't need a degree in writing to be a good storyteller. You don't need to know about marketing (but it can help.) You just need to be able to put the story/poem down in print in a way that makes readers react. That could be the issue, though. You mentioned several times that you're better with ORAL storytelling than writing. Writing is the key to the publishing business. You don't need a degree, but you DO have to have top-notch grammar, punctuation and composition skills. While your question was in a post . . . which a lot of people tend to take more for granted than what they plan to sell, I noticed several issues that you need to pay more attention to (capitalization, grammar and punctuation.) Remember that EVERYTHING you write needs to have the same attention paid as if you were going to sell it, to start to train your mind to put things down on the page in a saleable form.

So, if the question is will you require more schooling, the answer is "maybe." If this post was an anomaly---something you just slapped out without paying attention, then maybe not. If this post was something you worked at for long minutes, then perhaps a community college English or Creating Writing course would get you closer to where you could start to sell things.

I don't know if my answer was encouraging or discouraging. But TRY to take it as encouraging. I'm of the firm opinion that anyone can write. But the road to get there will be as hard or easy as each of us make it. If you think of it as a challenge and will find the process FUN, it will be. :)

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Cathy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you a lot

firstly I wrote this questions just slapped out without paying attention

secondly English not my native language

thank you

Answer
You're very welcome. I try not to presume whether people are writing as a first or fifth language when I answer, which is why I approached it delicately. It might be that you want to start with writing in your native language first. It can always be translated into English later if that's your intended audience. :) Good luck!

Cathy