I have always loved crafting stories. However, it wasn’t until fairly recently that I discovered that I had the power to take those complicated fantasy worlds of my mind and put them on paper.

If you think about it, it truly is a powerful thing, writing.

The Beginning

When I was younger, I was never short on imagination. Thousands of worlds and creatures and characters were always at my fingertips, dancing in my mind, begging for me to choose them.

However, I was too young to find the words, the right words, to convey the real magnificence of my creations.

Moreover, when you’re young, each new idea seems shinier than the first, and I never got to finish any of my works.

Lots of my first stories were based on games of pretend that my siblings and I would play. They were brilliant (with lots of potholes, but what are potholes when you’re young?) and engaging. I think the longest work that I ever wrote ended up being 80 pages, and I believe that was only two chapters (oh, to find that motivation!).

As my family got more into watching movies, such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, I began to branch out into fan fictions.

I had a certain Harry Potter fan fiction that went on for 20 (?) pages, and it wasn’t too horrible. It was about the grandchildren of Harry Potter, if memory serves correctly.

I also had several stories based on The Wings Of Fire, when I was into that. None of them did very well, as none of them had planning, or any structure to begin with. Nevertheless, they were so fun to write.

As I got older, I began to realize more and more that I didn’t like planning my stories out. I liked to find out what happens to the characters while I was writing. Anyone else do that to themselves? It really takes out your motivation when you have no idea what’s going to happen next.

My stories got more intense and complicated as I matured. I don’t remember much of what I wrote at this stage, but I did dip my toe into science fiction, and ended up writing a really good 50 page story (and I stopped writing in the middle of a sentence, wonder what happened there?). I tried to pick it up again, but for some reason, my writing was horrible compared to past-me’s. I would try to explain it, but it would take a long time. It was really complicated.

My Turn To Short Stories

Now we are getting very recent.

I began to watch some writing YouTubers, like Ana Neu and Abbie Emmons. They really helped spark my imagination again. I have countless half-written first chapters on my Google Docs page from this age. Some of them were good, some were just a desperate attempt to write something. And I never finished any of them.

Is it a good time now to say that I’ve never finished anything?

Until…

I found out that there are short stories! They exist! How exciting! I don’t need to write 50,000 words! Hooray!

So, I began planning a short story, and that’s when I found The Pages’ writing contest.

So I wrote a short story for that (fantasy, of course, and based on one of the past games of pretend my siblings played). And I finished it. It’s called The Crow: Dead By Dawn.

I am so proud of myself. Maybe someday I’ll post it here.

I didn’t win, but I had so much fun doing it. I’m always looking for new contests to compete in.

Now

Shortly after this competition, I found a wonderful website called Reedsy, where you can write, plan, and format your WIP!

One of the first stories I started writing on there was called A Debtor’s Oath, which was about an old pirate that owed the mermaids his life, but his fear of the sea kept him from paying them back. Anyway, it was a fun write for a time, but writing in the POV of an old man kept tripping me up, so I put the idea to rest for a time. Perhaps I’ll go back to it one day.

At the present time, I’m working on an actual novel. I have every chapter planned out, so all that’s left to do is write it. I have written the first chapter, and part of the second, and I’m still working on it! I’m super excited about it. I’m not sure if I’m ready to announce what it’s about quite yet, so stay tuned for the big reveal.

The tentative title is Small Town Star.

The biggest thing I’ve learned in writing is to have fun. The second you’re not enjoying writing your book is the second your reader is going to lose interest. If a part in your book is boring to write, it’ll be boring to read. Plus, writing is about your enjoyment, and out of that, your readers get to enjoy too.

Also, plan your novels, for heavens sakes. Don’t be like me.