Why do I write?
Ever since I was a little kid, I have been reading every book I can get my hands on and telling every snippet of a story that pops into my head. To be honest, I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't thinking about or writing a new story. The older ones are, well, we don't talk about anything I wrote between the ages of ten and fifteen. But the newer ones hold pieces of me like time capsules.
When I was that little kid writing stories starring me and my closest friends, my reason for writing was a lot simpler. I wanted a space to express my creativity that felt familiar. I loved books, I love(d) school, it felt natural. But mostly, I wanted something to show off to my friends I could say I made with my own two hands. Now, however, my reasons for writing are a lot more complicated. It still feels as natural as breathing to me to be writing words on a page or typing them on a screen. I still read just about as much as I write. I still like to write stories because I know my friends will like them. Only now, writing is sort of cathartic for me. I write to explore the feelings that brew deep in my mind at night and in between classes. If you have read anything I've posted here yet, that phrasing may seem strange. I'm a middle grade writer. My stories usually feature eleven and twelve year olds and have happy endings. So how am I exploring the dark thoughts that plague my mind at night? Most of those thoughts actually find their homes in my journals, but they create the ideas for my stories. I wonder what it would feel like to live in these worlds with impossible magic and daring adventures, and I find myself in the words I type. The anxiety I have developed over the years manifests itself in my journals and I pick up the fragments to make a stained glass window that resembles those fantasies. And when the light hits the image, it creates something beautiful. And now I'm rambling. Thank you for sticking around through my jumbled miniature essay about my writing. I invite you to take a look at the pieces on this site. I hope you find something to smile about in those pages. |