Introduction

Hi, you have reached the site of your favorite writer, Janice Kaat. I'm open to the public so please stop by and say hello to me once in awhile. Let me tell you a little bit about my life as a writer.

One of the best grades I got in High School was for my term paper in English class. I was in a C class at that time which meant that the teachers were not allowed to give me anything over a C. They should ban classes like that because I believed for a long time what they told me and that was that I better not think I could make a living from writing. I know it is a tough thing to do, but I thought I had no writing ability what ever. In this English class my teacher broke the rules and gave me an A+ for the term paper and the semester. I'll always be grateful to him for that.

After I left school I had convinced myself that I wasn't bright and therefore I better settle for anything I could get. I ended up working for a county hospital for 13 years and literally wore myself out. Toward the end of that time I saw an advertisement for a writing assessment test for writing for children. I was convinced I couldn't pass it so I never bother filling it out. They sent me a second chance and I decided to just have fun and take the test. I passed the assessment and started taking classes to learn how to write for children. I was hooked on writing.

The next thing that happened to increase my confidence in writing is a class I took in management. My teacher at the time, Robin Butler, convinced me that I could do anything I set my mind to. I was told that one time before when I took a test to see what I would be good at in a career field, but at that time I couldn't receive it. I got an A in Robin's class and every class I have taken since then. Later I saw a notice for a Creative Writing class at the nearby campus and I decided to sign up for it. My fellow student was Robin Butler.

That Creative Writing class was a lot of fun and gave me insights into myself about things I didn't even know existed. after class was over we decided that we didn't want it to end so we formed a writer's group and called it Writer's With Class. The teacher of that class, Robin, myself and a few others met together once a month. It was a great group and my writing flourished because of it. We continued to meet for several years.

During this time I signed up for classes at a week long program called School of the Arts in Rhinelander. All of the classes were good, but one class was my favorite. It was a class taught by Marshall Cook on creative writing and we had a lot of fun learning about some great writers and got a chance to do some writing of our own. I enjoyed it a lot. One of the funnest times is when he gave us all a different big word and we were supposed to come up with a meaning for it. Another time we were to write about a word and mine turned out sounding like the beat of a song. It was great fun.

One of the things I swore I would never do was to write nonfiction. But I got interested in taking an online course with Marshall Cook on article writing and because of that, the first thing I ever published was an article. That led to several more profiles that I had published in the Sheboygan Press. It has been very rewarding and something I really enjoy doing. I love interviewing people. Everyone has a story worth telling.

I moved up to Amberg Wisconsin in 2003 and started a newspaper in the basement of my house. I called it The Pike River Community News. I had writers who wrote for me; Marshall Cook, Billie Williams, and Sylvia Bright-Green being a few. I'll post other names and articles as I continue with this blog. The paper ran for 16 issues until I could no longer financially produce it. The printing was done by the Plymouth Review. I'll never forget holding that first paper in my hands and smelling that fresh ink hot off the press. That was something worth more than money can buy. During this time I met with Billie Williams and we started a writer's group. It always amazed me to be around her. She was always writing yet another book. It has been a pleasure knowing her.

Probably the hardest piece for me to write was my son's obituary. But it was something I wanted to do. I didn't want him to have just an ordinary obituary, I wanted it to be from the heart of a person who knew him. February 2nd 2008 my son Jeremy left this world behind and went to be with the Lord and his dear grandmother who had preceded him in death on May 27, 2005. Writing has become very difficult for me since that time. I have many things started but few finished.

One project I did finish, now I am just trying to find a publisher for it. I finished my novel Second Chances a few months after my son died. Other than that I've done a few inspirational pieces for friends and an article for Extra Innings which is an online version of the once famous Creativity Connection by Marshall Cook. Some day soon my writing is going to come back in all its glory and the pages of this blog won't be able to hold it all.

I will post the first chapter of my book on my blog next time. There will also be interviews and information about other writers on my blog. We are all in this together and I know what work goes into producing a novel. I congratulate each and every one of them and encourage them and anyone who is interested in writing to keep on writing.