For nine years, I was a kindergarten teacher. I loved the kids and I loved teaching, but in 2007, after discovering I was pregnant – again! – I resigned from my position. I had always dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom, and now I finally had the chance.

I also loved writing and had been doing it for the last few years during my free time, and especially over the summer. I’d even been published in a few small circulation magazines and a Chicken Soup book.

So with a new baby on the way and no teaching job to worry about, I decided to embark on the great adventure we all call freelance writing.

I took the popular “write what you know” advice to heart. I found the Education section of my Writer’s Market, and got busy. It wasn’t long before the acceptances started coming in. A magazine for Christian teachers called “Teachers of Vision”, accepted a story I wrote about a student I had in class one year. It was so exciting to be published and the story was easy to write because it was based on my own experiences.

I saw a posting for an anthology called “The Ultimate Teacher”. They were looking for stories. I submitted a story about an experience I had in the classroom, and they accepted it. Since then, I’ve kind of developed a platform as a writing teacher (or a teaching writer, depending on how you look at it.)

Our local school district has hired me to do workshops for their teachers on writing instruction. A story I wrote about my first year of teaching has been printed more than a dozen times, in all kinds of magazines. And most exciting, my first book, due out this fall, is a daily devotional book for teachers.

Although I’m no longer in the classroom, my old life as a teacher is breathing new life into my writing career.

Diane Stark is a former kindergarten teacher turned stay-at-home mom and freelance writer. Her work has been seen in all kinds of publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Tribute to Moms, MomSense, Woman’s World, and a variety of teaching publications. Her first book, The Teacher’s Devotions to Go Book, is due out this fall. She can be reached at DianeStark19 – at – yahoo.com.

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