I Never Write Right
我不懂寫作
When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write and illustrate my own books. Half the students sneered , and the rest nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. "Don't be silly, only geniuses can become writers," the English teacher said smugly , "And you are getting a D this semester." I was so humiliated that I burst into tears.
15歲時，我在英語課上向同學們宣佈，我要著書並親自配插圖。半數的同學冷嘲熱諷，而其他人則笑得差點翻下椅子。“別犯傻了，只有天才才能成為作家，”英語老師自以為是地說道，“而你這學期的成績只是D。”我倍感羞辱，當場就哭了起來。
That night I wrote a short sad poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the Capri's Weekly newspaper. To my astonishment, they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer. I showed it to my teacher and fellow students. They laughed. "Just plain dumb luck ," the teacher said. I tasted success, however. I'd sold the first thing I'd ever written. That was more than any of them had done.
當晚，我就寫了一首關於夢想破碎的憂傷短詩，而後把它寄給了《卡普里新聞週報》。令我驚訝的是，報紙刊登了那首詩並給我寄了兩美元。我成了一名發表作品並獲得稿費的“作家”。我把作品拿給我的老師和班裡的同學看，他們都笑話我。“不過是瞎貓碰到死耗子罷了。”老師說。但是我嚐到了成功的滋味。我賣出了生平第一件自創作品。這遠勝於他們任何人之所為。
During the next two years I sold dozens of poems, letters and jokes. By the time I graduated from high school, with a C minus average, I had scrapbooks filled with my published work. I never mentioned my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again.
在之後的兩年裡，我賣出了很多篇作品，其中包括詩歌、信件和笑話。高中畢業時，雖然我的平均成績只有C-，但我的剪貼簿上貼滿了我發表的作品。我從未在我的老師、朋友或者家人面前再次提起我的作品。
The worst year I ever had as a writer I earned two dollars. I was fifteen, remember? In my best year, I earned 36,000 dollars. People ask what college I attended, what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is: "None." I just write. I write everything on yellow tablets while sitting on the sofa with my four kids eating pizza and watching TV. When the book is finished, I type it and mail it to the publisher. I've written seven books. Four have been published and three are still out with the publishers.
在我作為一名作家最艱難的一年裡，我只掙到了兩美元。還記得嗎？那時的我只有15歲。而我在創作頂峰之年掙到了36000美元。人們問我就讀於哪所大學，擁有哪些學位，以及我具備成為作家的哪些素質時，我的答案是：“沒有。”我只是寫。當我和四個孩子坐在沙發上吃比薩、看電視時，我會在黃色的便箋簿上寫下一切。每寫完一本書，我就會把它敲出來寄給出版商。我已經寫了七本書。其中有四本出版，三本仍在出版商那裡。
To all those who dream of writing, I'm shouting at you: "Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Don't listen to them." I don't write right but I've beaten the difficulties. Writing is easy and fun. Anyone can do it. Of course, a little dumb luck doesn't hurt.
對於所有夢想著成為作家的人們，我要大聲對你們說：“是的，你們可以做到。是的，你們可以成功。不要聽他們的。”我的寫作並非盡善盡美，但我還是克服了困難。寫作很簡單，很有趣，任何人都可以勝任。當然，一點偶然的成功也沒什麼壞處。
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