I’m terribly intimidated to know that this is the first of my work some of you will ever read. This moment feels like public speaking, right at the hush when everyone waits for you to speak but all you can think about is whether the mic is going to squeal with feedback. And then you hazily ask yourself, “Why am I up here?”
The Long Version:
I guess I’m here, writing this to you, because I want to give some explanation of what you can expect from me and, quite simply, why I do what I do.
I used to know the answer to that, but it gets less clear as the years go on. I’ve cycled through answers about how it’s fun, or how it benefits others, or spouted philosophically about why humankind needs stories. Lately, I feel it is more like the reason why a fish swims or why a bird sings: Not just to communicate a thought or need, but because there was a song inside and it had to get out.
My whole life is a garden and it is always producing stories. Not to be morbid, but whenever that stops, I will die. It’s part of how I function. Everything is processed through my storytelling brain. When something happens, I weave it into the text of a story and I feel better. I may not repeat the experience verbatim, but I will at least process my feelings on the subject.
It started when I was a little kid. My mother stayed home with me when my sister began school, and I would come sit on her lap, turn her face toward me, and plunge headlong into a story of “What if?” or what I had allegedly dreamed last night. Though she was an excellent listener and always made me feel as if what I had to say was interesting and important, she would sometimes try to do chores while listening to me. She loves to tell how I would take her hands so that she would stop working and focus on what I was saying.
Ever since, life has only armed me to continue to perform my task of storytelling. When I learned to write, I was able to put down my thoughts instead of narrating them to my family. In elementary school, a teacher broke the news to me that some people are writers for a living. The funny thing is, I don’t know if that spawned the dream to be an author so much as it validated my determination to write forever. That’s all I want, really. And I want to share it with you. So I guess maybe that makes me an author.
Every experience in my life and those around me provide endless inspiration. It’s like a black hole, really; everything in my life gets sucked into my role as a storyteller. It’s not as bad as it sounds, either. Really, it gives me immense joy; some of my best times are in the middle of the night when I’m on a roll and the story just pours from my fingers. When I’m in between stories, my old roommates can tell you what a bear I am, how I drag myself mournfully from one place to another to sluggishly complain from a different position. Then when another story is born in my heart, I happily get right back to work as if nothing happened. It must be a real whirlwind to live with me!
The Short Version:
Bottom line? Here’s what I want you to know:
I’m a writer. That’s a certain type of organism that constantly produces stories except in periods of creative constipation (known to many as “writers’ block”) until it dies. Not only do I want to keep writing forever, but I have to. It’s how I live.
I write fiction. All kinds. Check out my About Me and Stories tabs for details.
I think writing might be my purpose. It’s one of the ways I show love, by creating characters who can be there for you to uplift and comfort you when I can’t. Even if I don’t know you, my characters do. All you have to do is love them, and they will teach you amazing things. First and foremost, however, they remind you that you’re not alone and that you always have a place to go in your mind when everything else is going to pieces.
Finally, my dream wouldn’t be complete without you. I long to write and I do it all the time, but without someone to read and enjoy and hopefully benefit from what I do, it’s like performing in an empty auditorium.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for showing an interest in what I do, and for giving me a chance to show you what I’m capable of. I hope you meet characters here you will love for the rest of your life. Please continue to join me for this epic adventure of creation and hopefully one day, publication.
Welcome to the family!
Gina Fiametta
