I am an Artisan

I think I was born an artist. I sculpted clay, carved wood, soap and anything else a case knife could cut through. I even carved with pine tree bark. My mother taught me to sew early in life. I have none of the drawings that I created in my childhood. I gave them all to classmates.
Being dyslexic, I didn't start writing words on paper until I was in my late 20's, but I remember making up stories in my mind as early as age 8 on long trips in the car. Sometimes I did that in school, but I got in trouble for daydreaming, so I thought it was something I wasn't supposed to do.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia at the same time as my son. I remember driving home from the doctor's office in tears, repeating to myself over and over; "I'm not stupid. I'm not stupid! I can do anything I want to. I just have to do it my way and try harder than other people."
I have heard some people say that we shouldn't slap labels on children because it stunts their growth. Of course, I wasn't a child, but that diagnosis may have been the best thing that ever happened to me. It set me free. I wrote my first book and presented it to my dyslexic son on his 10th birthday, in 1981. I have been writing ever since.
I have met so many authors who have multiple talents, and I think it is because they are creative, imaginative and innovative. They aren't shy about trying something new, in any art, including trying new genres in writing.
Whether I am building, decorating a pie, sculpting, carving or drawing, I am always trying to improve. This is true with my writing as well. I don't think I ever dreamed of becoming famous. I wanted to create and I wanted to share what I created. That was my goal and I have achieved it to a degree I never would have imagined. I have maintained a website of free reads, Dear Tales, for nearly 20 years. The face of the internet is changing now, though, and it is more difficult to share my work for financial reasons. This was my situation when I stumbled onto "writing.com" on a Facebook post.
Recently, I have joined Substack and I hope my membership with writing.com will allow me to share my writing as well as improve it.
I coach a writing class at my local library and enjoy watching new writers find their feet. I am an artisan encouraging other artisans. I wish that everyone who ever thought of writing a book would do it. I want them to know that if I can, they can.