Pettit, Erin

English

JMU Scholarly Commons (James Madison Univ.)

 Ariana ('89) and Yates Adams JMU alumna ventures away from corporateAmerica for just a bit to try her hand at writingBy Erin Pettit ('05)It all started when she saw a call for submissions for Chicken Soup for the Bride's Soul: Storiesof Love, Laughter and Commitment to Last a Lifetime. Ariana Adams ('89) was working as acommunications manager for Wachovia's Internal Audit department when she saw the chance to fulfill adream of hers."I knew it was the perfect opportunity for me," Adams says, "to try to get my work published sinceI had such a unique story to tell. So, it turned out to be a great groundbreaking publishing success."Her rare story begins with her unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart, YatesAdams, after a 10-year hiatus. They immediately started talking about marriage, and he soon proposed.But, just two days before their wedding day Adams was involved in a serious car accident. She was leftwith a collapsed lung, several broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and a fractured clavicle."I couldn't believe after a year and a half of wedding planning that I wasn't able to walk down theaisle … I remember looking out the hospital window and seeing a beautiful autumn day … we even gavethought to getting married in the hospital chapel. But I didn't want to remember my wedding day that way,so we decided to postpone the wedding until I was well … I eventually recognized that the wedding wasn'twhat mattered most, but the fact that we were together and I was going to get well was what was mostimportant."After a surprisingly speedy recovery, Ariana and Yates finally married. Contrary to thestereotypical "perfect wedding day," they competed with a thunderstorm."After everything we had been through, a little rain was the least of my worries," Ariana says. "Itwas actually pretty cool to hear the thunder as we stood at the altar saying our vows. Sure, I would havepreferred that it was a nice sunny day. But I was just glad to finally have my day. I learned that people puttoo much emphasis on everything being perfect on their wedding day."So, with she and Yates finally married -- unique story in hand -- Ariana was able to kick off herwriting career. She submitted her story to Chicken Soup and it was selected among 3,000 submissions tobe one of the 101 featured stories."I was elated," Adams says, "not just because I was published, but also because I was able toshare my unique story with a vast audience."The Adams' story was then featured in South Charlotte Weekly, a regional paper where theyreside. This experience gave Adams even more writing exposure."Our faces were plastered all over Charlotte in those newspaper bins that line every streetcorner. That was such a rush. Additionally, while I don't yet know the impact, I'm hoping that it will beeasier for me to get published in the future, now that I have one under my belt. That is to be determined!I'm submitting a story for another Chicken Soup book, so stay tuned."Adams actually quit corporate America for a while to freelance full time."I did business writing though, not creative writing. I entered the market as a freelancer severalmonths after 9/11 and the Enron fiasco, so the economy could not support my efforts. I had some work butnot nearly enough to make the money I needed to support my lifestyle. So after 15 months, I took the jobat Wachovia. My plan is to, at some point, leave corporate America once again to write full time, however,I want to do creative fiction and nonfiction versus business writing. I would like to eventually write novelsfull time.""What I enjoy the most is knowing that I'm sharing a part of myself and hopefully leaving a legacybehind. I don't have children and don't plan on any, so this is my form of procreation.""I've tried writing pieces that I just couldn't get into. As I reflected on why, I realized that I didn'thave enough passion about the subject … it's easy to be self-critical and talk yourself into believing you'renot a good writer. But with practice and persistence, publication is only a story away!" Read Ariana's own story. 

JMU alumna ventures away from corporate America for just a bit to try her hand at writing

https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=monty

JMU alumna ventures away from corporate America for just a bit to try her hand at writing

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