[Inspiration]Anne of Green Gables

[This is a first in a series of blogs where I talk in depth about what has inspired me as an writer.]

The first series I can say that I ever truly loved was Anne of Green Gables. I honestly don't even remember how old I was when I picked it up, but I was in love with her world and her from page one, all the way to the last page of Rilla of Ingleside. How could you not love the adventures of a plucky orphan girl who gradually wins over everyone around her? Especially one who screws up (a lot)?

I don't know how familiar you may or may not be with a lot of what is written for girls out there, but most of it revolves around these characters that are perfect in every way and happen to have hardship fall on them. Not Anne. Anne is gawky, unwanted orphan girl who doesn't know how to shut up. She scandalizes everyone in town from the second she steps foot in it. Her family wants to send her back, because they wanted a boy from the orphanage. (Actually, now that I write this out, Little Orphan Annie might have had some influence, except Matthew and Marilla are far from rich.) She gets her rich and sheltered best friend drunk unintentionally. She's a romantic and a dreamer.

In short, in a lot of ways I was Anne Shirley. Over the course of 8 books, Anne Shirley grows and matures and becomes graceful (something I'm still working on doing). The simple fact that someone could write such an inspiring character for all the kids that didn't quite fit in made me realize exactly how much I wanted to write. I've been writing since I was four, but this was the first time that I thought maybe my words could have an impact on other people as well.

Anne Shirley was a personal inspiration and heroine. She is perhaps the main reason that I dye my hair red as often as I do. To this day, the fact that Anne can find her dreams despite her gawkiness and her brashness, gives me hope that maybe I can as well. I have read every book L.M. Montgomery has written and I love nearly every character, but none of them hold quite the place in my heart that Anne Shirley does.