Writing life

I've been working on my master of fine arts degree for the past two years now, and I've recently discovered how much I enjoy writing for children. During my undergrad, poetry was my main subject area, and although I adore writing poetry, I've always wanted to write fiction too. Now it seems that I've found a genre that I'm good at writing in and that I also really enjoy.

In September I started a writing for children class with writer Maggie Devries. Not only is she an excellent instructor, but she gives such great feedback on our writing. I started out the year writing my first two picture books for children, and recently started writing a children's novel. On Wednesday I have my next submission due, so I've begun a new series of what I intend to be picture books, but I've based them all around the same imaginary family, the Littlebees. The main character's name is Edmund, and he has three older brothers and three younger sisters.

Here is an excerpt from my first story, entitled "Hiccup", about a boy named Jack, whose new baby sister can't stop hiccuping. His parents have tried everything to get rid of her hiccups, so it's up to big brother Jack to save the day.

HICCUP!

Jack's baby sister was born with the hiccups.
It was the first sound she made when the doctor placed her in her mum's arms.
Jack's mum wasn't surprised. The baby had been hiccupping in her tummy for days.

"What's that noise?" asked Jack, when he walked into the hospital room.
"Looks like she's got the hiccups," said the doctor.
"Hiccup," said the baby.
"Those are big hiccups for a little girl," said the nurse.
"HICCUP," said the baby, a little louder this time.
Jack wasn't sure he wanted a sister who hiccupped all the time.

So far, I've been having a lot of fun coming up with ideas for stories that children would enjoy. I have a dream that one day I can dedicate myself to writing full time. Mike agrees that once my student loan is paid off and I have finished my MFA, that I could take a year off work and stay at home with Audrey and write full time. It sounds wonderful, but for now I'm enjoying the few hours that I get to spend online with other writers each week.