About

“Be anything but predictable.”

I was born in Adelaide south Australia in the 1980s, a time of big hair, big shoulder pads and big cartoons (He-Man, She-Ra). I grew up on a farm in Victoria, raised by ex-hippy parents, weaned on Pink Floyd, Star Wars and Monty Python. 

 

I began a love affair with reading at an early age thanks to my mother’s own voracious appetite for books. While my school friends were reading about the adventures of the baby sitters club, I was sinking my teeth into Stephen King’s ‘It’… and having sleepless nights as a result; convinced Pennywise was haunting my bedroom. 

At the same time, I turned my hand to writing. My first stories were childish experimentation with genre mash-ups (wizards in space springs to mind) and adventure stories until my teenage hormones kicked in and I found dark, morbid poetry. Many-rhyming-words-for-blood later I was still reading and writing, but also a young adult ready to head out into the world and make my mark. My intention; to study literature and linguistics with a philosophy minor on the side. And so I did… for three months until I learnt of those things all adults know to be reality; bills, mortgage and money. 

This realization led me to drop out of university and find a job in the Melbourne CBD in junior administration…

 

skyscrapers

And so became my life for the next ten years working in various corporate administrative roles; accounting assistant, para-planner, office manager, client liaison officer… a litany of unfulfilling jobs where my creativity and yearning to write was squelched down into a tiny contained box. 

After flailing about in the health and human services sector for a few years, I took the plunge and went back to university, lured by the promise of research and academic writing. I came away from university with a Bachelor of Arts, Rural Social Welfare degree and an even greater desire to write… 

…I found case management instead. I bounced around the aged care, disability, mental health, family violence sectors, always helping others, never satisfying that primal yearning within… “Write dammit, write!”

 

Because at the end of the day; a writer writes.

38 thoughts on “About”

  2. Pingback: “Be anything but predictable.” – CD-W, Author Flawed to Perfection

  3. Love that Jodi Picault quote. I’ve been writing for hours every day for the past three years plus and it gets to a point where you absolutely cannot not write..nor do you have problems finding a topic if you just follow the WordPress daily prompt. It is like a magic potion. You can take it wherever you wish to, but at least you have a starting point. Good post!!!

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  6. Pingback: The Outcast’s Bloghouse – Jessica Bakkers – Jessica Bakkers

  8. Good for you for following your dream of writing despite how hard it is. I waited until the kids were grown, and though I don’t waste time with regrets, I do wonder where I’d be had I started 20 years earlier! Happy Writing, Jessica 😀

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  11. Perfect, I was also born in the 80’s. I just never progressed past the dark, morbid Rhyming words poetry stage….and I love it. Although granted if I had the time you might actually catch me watching an old episode of he-man.

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  12. The greatest piece of advice I ever received was this:

    “What’s the difference between a writer and everybody else? A writer writes, you see.”

    You have my undying loyalty now.

    Which mainly just translates into me hanging around, talking about zombie ants or invisible tornadoes.

    You’re welcome.

    Or I’m sorry.

    Definitely one of those things.

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  15. Hi Jessica, I’ve found my way here via Fiery who mentioned you. I love what you said about how a writer writes. Simplistic but so true. Like you I grew up devouring books, loved Stephen King and worked in admin roles for years before finally succumbing unashamedly to my real passion. Writing. So great to meet you and I look forward to reading more.

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  16. Hi Jessica, my husband was born in NSW. When he and I started traveling 25 years ago, the first place to visit was Australia where he dived in the Great Barrier Reef.
    Good to know you started writing when you’re young. You’re in a wonderful and supportive blogging community.
    I worked for a publishing company where I had four children’s books published when I was 26. I don’t own the copyright though. I always write but didn’t publish again until 2 years ago, 8 years after my retirement.

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    1. Nice to learn a bit more about you too, Miriam – especially the Australia connection 😊
      The good thing about writing, I feel, is that we only get better with age, so there’s no hurry to write or publish!

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