Inside the Front Page
by Amy

December 31st, 2004 Round two ---When I first started writing, like most people, I was an angst filled kid scrawling journal entries. I never used girly journals with "My Diary" stamped on it. I used notebooks, punched with three holes and filled them with everything except school notes. I have a box of these I have carried around with me for years and in a fire, it's the first thing I would grab. ---As I write this, the Thesaurus I thumbed through when I wrote my first story is on my bookshelf. My mother wrote my name throughout it, just in case the cover was torn off and another fourth grader would haul off with it. I remember looking for another word for "run"; I wanted to out-do my favorite author at the time, RL Stine. ---Many yaers later, I picked up an abandoned sketchbook and started scribbling words. It was a completely new arena. A blank page was much less intimidating than having an obligation to fill in all the ruled lines. There was no expectation. The blank page was mine. ---These days I only write on blank white paper. I collect sketchbooks, words scribble all over the place. Up the side, enter stage left, drop from the top. It's always a flexable canvas. No lines to remind me that I might not be doing it right. ---The past couple of months, I've had the same realization as when I discover blank paper. Letter X is my new open sketchbook. The difference is that I've invited others. Although, the writers and artists are the ones who have filled in the canvas. ---The rewarding part is connecting with people who love what they do. They've kept the element of surprise leaping from the page. It's refreshing to find people who have hope in something, a piece of their life that they love unconditionally. They work their fingers to the bone to create it, for themselves and for you. ---Enjoy the magazine as I have; the contributors want to share themselves with you. They're inviting you to be a part of what they do. It's always an open invitation. X, Amy

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