By and Illistraishens by Nancy White

Okay guys, finish this sentence: "I am a..."

These days when I start a sentence with "I am a..." it's followed by my profession. I am a speech pathologist.

I guess sometimes you might follow it with your nationality. I am an Australian.

Maybe other demographic information. I am a white, middle class, able-bodied, cis-woman.

Some people might fill in their hobby. I am a SCAdian, perhaps. I am a Lady in the SCA? I am a dancer. I am a reader. I am a footy player (I'm not, that one was just an example).

I am a writer.

Am I, though?

Let's think this one through. This year can have a pass because we're only 15 days in.

I'll come back to 2014, 2015 & 2016.

In 2013, I did my Honours year at UWA. My subject? Creative writing. I wrote a lot. And I also attended an intensive creative writing course in Edinburgh. Where I also wrote a lot. In 2013, when I said "I am a writer" it was so true.

In 2014, I wrote about 3 short stories. In 2015, I wrote 3 stories. In 2016... I wrote 3 short stories. And bear in mind, I spent 7 months unemployed so I definitely had the time to write more.

I am, no longer, a writer.

But for most of my life, I have been a writer. And so today I have a special treat for you. I have been on a hunt to find the oldest recorded piece of writing that I produced. This piece is out of an old notebook that has 101 Dalmatians on the front (from the 1996 live-action move). We estimate that I was between 7 and 9 years old when this story was written. I will reproduce it here in type for you but I will keep the spelling as it is written in this notebook (including editing, although I’ll mark my comments today with square brackets) and I will photograph the "illistraishens" for you. Enjoy!

♥Nancy♬

Once upon a time.

by and illistraishens by Nancy White.

for a girl who's [unreadable] years old and her name is [unreadable - possibly Eileen].

7 chapters

The "Cover Page" of the Story

chap 1. The Fairy Princess

By Nancy White

Once upon a time there lived a princess named Rosie. Rosie was beutiful. She had long yellow hair. She also had silk dresses and jewellery. One day Rosie saw the most tiny and handsome teeny weeny tiny biny boy with wings. The next day she saw him again. Then the day after that. She saw him almost every day. On her 16^th birthday she was a fairy when she woke up. She cried with delight. It was wonderful. The thing was she did not have wings. She could dance and sing but could not fly.

I Can Only Assume This Is Meant to Be the Protagonist, Princess Rosie

chap 2 What Next!??!

Rosie was startled, at that instant the king came in and Rosie screamed.

King Quantas was angry at his daughter for screaming right write on the morning of her sixteenth birthday.

When Princess Rosie went into the garden to play with furry the palace cat, She shrunk to the size of furry. It scared Her.

chap 3 Growing Smaller!

Then smaller and smaller and smaller again she grew. Soon she was fairy sized. She still did not have wings.

Poor Rosie she was sad. Suddenly Rosie felt two bumps on her back. She knew it was her wings growing! Oh!, Oh!, Oh! she cried with delight.

Then She Rosie said “how did all this happen?” Then Next She Rosie he-ard a scary, wicked laugh!

chap. 4 A GOBLIN?

She then saw sour, ugly little men. Hundreds of them. At the back of the crowd she saw the little man. Rosie knew now, the little men were goblins.

Suddenly the goblins rushed at her. They captured Rosie and took her away.

chap. 5 The Dungeon

They put Rosie in a dungeon. The dungeon was damp and dirty. Rosie did not like it.

An evil servant gave her a cat and some fish. (wich was mouldy!) On her fitht day in the dungeon a little pixie said “tell me the answer to 2x11 and I will free you.” “The answer is 22” Rosie said. “Thank you my name’s Susan I’ll set you free now.” the pixie said. Susan freeded Rosie.

chap 6 !Free! ♡

!Free! ♡

Susan exclimated exclaimed “I’m glad your free, and I’m glad your my friend but shoudn’t we be getting home”!!? ?!! Rosie scampered away withe x [withe has a cross next to it, rather than the strikethrough that most other errors have] with Susans address on a piece of paper.

chap 7 Rejoceing Regjocing

When Rosie got home her father held a party. It had been an exiting week. Susan often came to play.

THE

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I Probably Wrote "good job" Myself