From Daydreams to Novels: My Journey as a Writer.

I have a pretty colorful imagination.  My mind is a treasure trove of fantastical (and sometimes, fantastically wild) visions, haha! Seriously though, I can paint vivid realms and worlds in my mind's eye, where enchanted landscapes and characters come to life!  It's one of my gifts.

For the first 15 to 17 years of my life, I only used this gift to entertain myself when I got bored.  As an introvert who would often choose solitude over 'friends and fun', I had plenty of time to work on my creative power and before long, I was telling myself stories of infinite realms and orchestrating tales that resonated with depth. 

When I was 17 years old, I started writing some of my stories down, and that's when I decided that I would work to get my novels published and become like J.K. Rowling.

Not very long.  From the day I decided that I would write my stories into novels, it only took me about a week to draft the outline for the first book.  From then, it took me about a year to finish the written work as I balanced my writing with going to school, doing schoolwork and doing my chores at home.

I didn't get a computer or a cell phone until age 23, so in order to type my novel, I had to go to a café in town, where I could rent a computer at a fixed charge.  I ended up having to save up my school money (which wasn't very much) until I had enough for a 1-hour visit each time to type and to save my work on a flash drive.

It got even harder when my first two flash drives crashed and I lost all of my work, twice, because I had no way to backup my work.

I had the stories already planned out and finished in my mind, so I always knew where the story was going each time I would get around to writing.  This also made it relatively easier to rebuild my written work every time I lost it in a flash drive crash.

Inspiration for works of fiction can come from anywhere.  Open your mind and let your imagination run wild.  Then from there, you can trim and prune, add and subtract, and build on your masterpiece until you're satisfied with it.  Also, take as much time as you need to write your story properly, instead of just rushing through it, trying to finish it.

2. Local Writing Groups and Workshops:

3. Creative Writing Classes:

4. Libraries and Bookstores:

I completed my first novel in writing before I turned 18 years old. That was quite an adventure in itself for me, and I was very excited about my story. My idea was to get it published and make it available to high schools in my country. Then I would make some good money from the sales, and then use that money to fund some other projects of mine. I believed that it would help me get started in life on a good note.

I was technically still a minor at that time and would need help with literally every single step of my plan, and so I took my finished novel to my parents and tried to discuss my intentions with them.  My parents were very dismissive of me and my ideas.  They hardly even listened to me.  I was a little hurt by this, but honestly, I wasn't surprised at all.  I knew my parents well enough to know that they would dismiss me entirely and never even consider what I had tried to tell them.

I went to an uncle next, gave him the novel and proceeded to tell him what the story was about and also what my plan was.  He was immediately intimidated and gave me a long list of excuses for why my plan was 'foolish' and would be impossible to achieve.  I listened to him go on for hours, beating about the bush and repeating himself many, many times.  Then I went to an aunt but she was even meaner and much more spiteful. 

I was getting tired and running out of people to go to.  I was very introverted back then and didn't have many people whom I could freely, confidently walk up to and ask for help.  Any kind of help.  Not help with my extremely abusive, toxic family, not help with the struggles I faced, not help with my novel and my plan to get it published.  I was painfully aware of my predicament... but I didn't give up just yet.  I had two more places I was going to try, and I was staying hopeful.

Unfortunately, my final two rays of hope, my old school and my church at the time, turned out to be shrouds of disillusionment for me.  Neither institution gave me any helpful information or tips about getting published, nor did they offer me any words of encouragement or morale support.  I left both places, feeling totally defeated.  It was a horrible feeling.

It's been more than a decade since then, and I have grown up a lot.  My "plan" has completely evolved and I have come to be very thankful that things turned out the way they did.  The naysayers were wrong, but my new plan is much bigger and will enable me to make a much bigger impact.  I'm thinking worldwide now, not just my little corner, and I'm better equipped now to handle myself.

Overall, I'm just very thankful that I waited  :  ).

Below is the cover, and the first page from my latest novel (in project).

Yes. I have many more stories to tell and that means many more novels to write.

No Rules. No Excuses. No Regrets.