Becoming a Writing Tutor

I never thought that I would end up with a job that I actually enjoy. My biggest goal and dream is to end up as Published Writer and English Professor which I’m working on.

Until then, I needed a job that would give me the time to finish college and to write. Before going after my dreams, at the age of 29, I got a degree in Medical Billing and Coding. After 4 years, I realized it was not for me. It’s a great career with good income, but I was not happy.

When I turned 33, I realized that I was not happy because I did not go after my dreams of becoming a publish writer. After speaking to my husband, I decided to quit my job and go back to school to get an Associates in Psychology and English(two of my favorite subjects).

Before finishing my Bachelor’s in English, I realized I needed some income even if it was part-time. I wanted something that would not keep me super busy with crazy hours. After looking for a few months, I found this amazing job as a Writing Tutor for a Community College. I had tutored in the past, but I had never tutored just Writing and with College students.

It’s only been a year, and I love going to work. It gives me plenty of time to finish my degree and to work on my own writings. I enjoy helping students with their research papers, essays, and so on. I have always loved doing that, and now, I get paid to do it, and that’s amazing.

My Weekend Inspirational Book Recommendation

For any person who needs that extra push or encouragement with their own Writing Career, I recommend reading “On Writing” by Stephen King. I don’t recommend simply because he is one of my favorites, but because he makes it sound easy and relatable.

The first half of this book is about his personal story for his love for reading and writing, how and why he became a published writer, and his struggles of becoming a published writer.

The second half of the book is where he gives advice and teaches real quick English 101, do’s and don’ts of writing, and how to sell your stuff. He even gives advice about what to do once you get published.

This book is just the kick in the butt that I needed to start My Writing Career.

Writers who influence me…

There are so many great writers out in this world, and there are many who influence me in my writing and in my life. There are 4 certain writers that have had a big impact on me since I was a kid. Of course, there is my first two loves…Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King. But, I also have to point out Jane Austen and Virginia Woolfe. These two women have made a big impact on my writing. Even though, I am a big fan of horror and Psychological Thrillers, I also appreciate reading about relationships, about the questions of life and death, and about love.

In love with Horror…

I fell in love with horror at the age of 6. During that time, I was an only child, and my parents and I lived in Houston, Tx. In the year of 1988, my uncle, who had just graduated from high school, came to live with us before he started college. I guess he wanted to take a break from school, and he loved hanging out with my mom. She was his favorite person. He was only 17, and he was obsessed with horror movies. He was my babysitter, and we got to hang out together a lot. He introduced me to great movies such as “Carrie”, “The Exorcist”, and “Night of the Living Dead”, and other greats. But, those three movies made a big impact on my taste and love for Horror. My mom was not a huge fan of me watching horror movies being only 6, but she saw that I was not scared and I never had any nightmares. So, she decided that as long as I didn’t have any nightmares that it was okay. And, those movies never scared me. Those movies just entertained me and made me feel good about life. I thought (and still do) that Horror was so much fun. Around that time, I got really into reading (what they call Chapter books) for kids. My mom also encourage me to read, and I loved reading. Since, I was only 6 years old, I had no idea what I was desired to read, but she bought me books like “Black Beauty”, “Secret Garden”, “Call of the Wild” and so on. They were good, but at the age of 8, I found my genre and my favorite writers. In the 4th grade, my school had a book fair, and as I looked at all the books- one certain book caught my attention. It was a purple book with a black, scary-looking house in the middle, and I love the fact that it was titled “Eight Tales of Terror”. At that moment, I had no idea who Edgar Allen Poe was, but that didn’t stop me from buying the book. I fell in love with his stories, and searched for other stuff by him, and I found out that he also wrote poetry. So, at 8 years old, I discovered my love for poetry and horror fiction. Edgar Allen Poe was the first writer I fell in love with, and then I found the book “Carrie” by Stephen King and found my second love.

Stephen King Reading Challenge 2019

I fell in love with horror from the age of 8 by reading Edgar Allen Poe and the Master Stephen King. But, as life happens, I stopped reading fiction at the age 25. I got really into Non-Fiction and Self-Help books which helped me in that time in my life. Even though I still was a huge Stephen King Fan (specially his movies), I stepped away from reading Fiction and Poetry.

But, then in 2017, at the age of 35, I decided to follow my dreams of becoming a published writer, and I felt I needed some encouragement. To my delight, I discovered “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King- a Non-Fiction book written by him about his journey with his writing career. He teaches, gives advice, writes about his love for reading and writing, his ups and downs, but mainly, he gives encouragement. This book gave me the push and desire that I needed to start my writing career, and it also reminded me of my love for Fiction.

So…I have decided to Challenge myself to buying and reading all of SK’s books (including his Non-fiction and all other written works) by this year. I’m pretty sure I can finish before Christmas. My dead line is Dec. 24, 2019.

He has 52 Fiction Novels (including 4 co-author), The Dark Tower Series that is 8 Books, 10 Short Story/Novella Collection Books, 5 Non-Fiction Books…So, that is 75 Books in Total. And of course, I will be reading other books by other authors.

So far, I have read…

  • On Writing (2000)
  • Mr. Mercedes (2014)
  • Finders Keepers(2015)
  • End of Watch (2016)
  • Carrie(1974)
  • The Shining (1977)
  • The Outsider(2018)
  • Elevation(2018)

I have been buying his books mostly at Second Hand Bookstores like Half-Price Bookstore. I have close to 14 First Editions, and 7 of those Books are First Edition First Print-which is huge with book collectors. My most expensive at the moment is “Christine” for $10 which is a steal.

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