Becoming a Writer

Current Mood:
Playful
I’ve had a desire to write since I was very young. I’ve always had a very active, vivid, wild and expressive imagination. When I told a story to someone, they’d always listen and find what I had to say fascinating because I was skilled with taking people on a journey. I always explored the “what if” and the unusual. So naturally, I had delightful and entertaining stories to tell.
I can remember all of the poems, short stories and random writings I created in the past. I wrote my first short story at age 9 which turned out to be nearly 40 pages. I’d written stories before but they were random short writings that I played around with. The short story I wrote at this point in time was for a 4th grade class assignment. Each student was instructed to write a 4-5 page short story. I decided to write a short story on one of my favorite games at the time: Alex Kidd in Miracle World. It was a game for the now defunct but ever-nostalgic Sega Master System console.
Our teacher wanted each of us to present our stories in front of the class by reading it aloud. I was excited about this and wanted to share what I had written with classmates eagerly. Once it was my turn to take center stage in front of the class and deliver my story, I remember seeing the expressions of several classmates as they listened. Many stopped what they were doing, as if they were in mild trances and their eyes became fixated on me. They were captivated by my Alex Kidd fan fiction story and all of its surreal descriptions and scenes. The teacher was very impressed with my tale and immediately praised my writing after I finished presenting. She gave me an A on the assignment and said that I should write more stories because I had natural talent.
I felt great about her support and very proud of my writing. Toward the middle of that year, I began experimenting with funnies, comic strips and various accompanying illustrations. I would show the same instructor my creations and she continued encouraging me and said she found my strips amusing and humorous. I was certainly inspired to write further. While waiting to be picked up after-school , I began writing poems with illustrations on blank paper that came in a multitude of colors. I’d go around showing these works to various kids on the playground, after-school counselors and other teachers to see their reactions. I had as much fun revealing my writings to others as I did creating them. It was my own quirky way of entertaining myself.
Writing poetry became an intense habit. Over the next several years, I wrote many poems and my writing became more sophisticated and expressive. I started to write poetry not only as a way to creatively express myself, but as a form of therapy to explore and purge my emotions. As an eccentric and solitary child, my writing and artwork were my best friends.
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