I was perusing the Author Magazine blog and came across an article about teachers. It got me thinking about who my most influential writing teacher was.

Who was your most influential teacher? Did he or she change your career course? Your way of thinking?

My favorite/most influential teacher in school was Professor Charles Johnson at the University of Washington. He won the US National Book Award for Middle Passage, as well as a MacArthur Fellowship in 1998.

When I was at the UW, he was the head of the Creative Writing department where I was getting my English degree. His short fiction class was, without a doubt, the most influential class I’ve ever taken. Mr. Johnson wasn’t overly critical, but he was reserved with praise. His lectures were always interesting.

I remember we were near the end of the quarter, and I had reworked a short story from earlier that year. I had turned it in again and stopped by his office to pick it up. Before handing it to me, he flipped through the pages, nodding his head.

“You’ll be a writer,” he said, and handed the papers to me. I think a sputtered a weak “thank you,” and scurried from his office. (For anyone who knows me, they’ll hardly believe this.)

I think I called my mom as soon as I got home that night, squealing. I had always wanted to be a writer (and I still do). Such a small phrase changed everything for me – a real live author thought that I would someday be a writer! Have you ever had an experience like that? It’s funny how something so small can be such a big deal! And for the record, I’m still waiting on that exciting fiction career 🙂

Oh, and by the way: GO DAWGS!