Tom Funke, writer
If you walked up to my high school English teachers and told them that Tom Funke is a published writer, expect hysterical laughter.
English, especially grammar and spelling, are definitely (did I spell that correctly?) a weakness.
How did I become a writer?
I remember my very first task as a member of the education team at Binder Park Zoo. Asked to help write an article by my boss, we sat down in front of a monochrome screen to write an article on recycling.
Intimidated, I realized I could be exposed. Or, I would succeed.
Writing many articles for the zoo over the years, I made a great leap to a creative writer during a backpacking trip in 1998. While on a six week sabbatical hiking across Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I kept a detailed journal of my adventure.
Words flowed, ideas lept from my brain to my hand, and there was no shortage of inspiration. Unencumbered by deadlines, other competing tasks, or daily interruptions, I found that if I set aside a certain time to write, the dormant, creative writer in me would come alive.
Today, I still use this model. And, I love to write. I just wish I had more time . . .
Look for "50 Hikes in the Upper Penninsula" in the spring of 2008, by Countryman Press!
