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Have you ever dreamed of becoming a writer, only to be put off by fears that you lacked the ability? If so, then reading Linda Stafford's story will have you reaching for your pen with renewed hope.
你是否曾梦想成为一名作家，却因为担心自己缺乏这方面的才能而却步？如果是这样，那么读一读琳达·斯塔福德的故事就会使你怀着重燃的希望拿起笔来。
I Never Write Right
我写作一向是野路子
When I was 15, I announced to my English class that I was going to write and illustrate my own books. Half of the students nearly fell out of their chairs laughing.
在我十五岁的时候，我在我们英语课上宣布说我要写书并为自己的书作插图。当时有一半同学大笑不止，差一点从他们座位上摔出去。
Don't be silly. Only geniuses can become writers, the English teacher said. "And you are getting a D this semester."
“别犯傻了。只有天才能成为作家。”英语老师说，“而你这学期的英语只能得D。”
I was so embarrassed that I burst into tears. That night I wrote a short, sad poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the Capper's Weekly. To my astonishment they published it, and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer! I showed my teacher and fellow students. They laughed.
我感到很难堪，一下子哭了起来。当天晚上我就写了一首短诗，抒发梦想破灭的悲哀，然后把它寄给了《卡珀周刊》。令我惊讶的是，他们竟发表了我的诗，还寄给了我两美元。我成了一个发表过作品拿到过稿费的作家了！我拿给老师和同学们看。他们都笑了。
Just plain dumb luck, the teacher said.
“纯粹是傻运气，”老师说。
I'd tasted success. I'd sold the first thing I'd ever written. That was more than any of them had done, and if it was "just plain dumb luck," that was fine with me.
我已经尝到了成功的滋味。我已经卖掉了我的第一篇作品。这超过了他们任何人取得的成绩，就算它“纯粹是傻运气”，我也觉得很好。
During the next two years I sold dozens of poems, letters, jokes and recipes. By the time I graduated from high school, I had scrapbooks filled with my published work. I never mentioned my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again. They were dream killers. And if people must choose between their friends and dreams, they must always choose the latter.
在随后的两年里，我卖出去几十件作品，其中包括诗歌、信件、笑话和食谱。到我中学毕业时（平均分为C¯），我已经有了好几本剪贴簿，上面贴满了我发表过的作品。我再也没有对老师们、朋友们或家人谈起我写作的事。他们都是些扼杀梦想的人。而如果人们必须在朋友和梦想之间作出选择的话，他们必须永远选择后者。
