Since elementary school I have loved poetry. One of my best friends in elementary school was a gifted poet, and being around her so much exposed me to the beautiful, colourful world of poetry. I would go to her house and feel pure joy listening to her and her father making up rhymes and poems on the spot. She was pretty much known as The Poet of the school.
And I can't thank her enough for showing me the beautiful world of poetry. She showed me how to explore magical worlds through mythical games and magical words.
I began doing poetry and short story workshops in middle school at a writing center in my hometown. Although I grew apart from my elementary school friend, I still took what I learned with me. I was encouraged and praised in my imagination and skill of pairing words together. I was published a few times through the writing center and did a poetry reading.
Then came high school.
I took poetry classes and delved into more intense poetry classes outside of school. The start of high school, I was pretty awkward. Not to say that I grew out of it, I just embraced it and now am just known for it. I was in a poetry workshop that encouraged my creativity and pushed me to challenge myself. I thrived with the teacher, but never felt like I fit in. I was a shy, goody goody all about school freshman surrounded by upperclassmen that skipped class, drank, and did drugs.
Let me clarify: I do not shame anyone for doing any of that, but it was not who I was. I have always been very passionate about school and wasn't a part of the drug scene.
It was an excellent experience, but come my junior year of high school, I stopped going. This center was known as the one for the outcasts, where everyone fits in.
Except me. Not my kind of outcasts.
I made amazing friends and don't regret one second of it. Okay, maybe a minute or two, but other than that, it was amazing.
So I stopped going, but continued to excel in English and fell in love with it.
And then, I met her.
My best friend as a senior in high school, and still one of my best friends to this day has been nothing but encouraging. I learned she was a gifted writer, namely writing novels, which is something I have always been drawn to but never had the patience for. Being around her positive attitude and creative nature is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. This lovely girl will come back into the story in a little bit.
Senior year of high school, I blossomed in writing.
I took multiple English classes, and was challenged, and I loved it. I took a women's literature class, which became one of my favourite classes and teachers, and there is one assignment, that I cannot thank my teacher enough for.
The short story assignment.
When I first heard this assignment, I internally groaned.
Then I panicked.
I wanted to hide under my desk.
I have always seen writing short stories and novels as a pain that I could never actually do. I applauded authors but could never see myself being able to focus for that long on one story. I changed my mind on the plot of my assignment multiple times, came to the climax far too soon, and had to pretty much redo the short story.
But a little bit later, after getting an A on that project. I went on to turn that short story into a full length novel, and then, I became hooked on writing novels.
Remember that lovely girl? This is where she comes in again. As we grew close we began talking more about writing and we showed one another our writing as we grew to be best friends. We began exchanging our novels to one another for edits, and I learned so much from her. And I keep learning from her.
She has read chapter after chapter of my first novel and painstakingly checked grammar and gave me encouraging notes. I message her about plot lines and "Is this stupid??" to receive encouragement and critique and "No that's genius!". She's the kind of person everyone needs.
In college I continued writing books and messaging my best friend about writing and other things. I finished my first novel sometime the summer before my first year of college.
And I never stopped.
I kept writing novels, even through months long writer's blocks and the pressure of school and just wanting to give up.
My writing journey is far from over. It has barely started.
So thank you, to everyone that has helped me in this writing journey.
~The Whimsical Writer
Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to talk about in anything of the realm of writing. Happy typing!
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