Why I Enjoy Writing

Growing up, the only types of books I was interested in reading were Nintendo Power books that I subscribed to every month. Before I could fully read them myself, mom would sit with me and we would flip through the pages, me asking her what things were – anything that caught my eye.

I eventually cultivated a flair to enlarge my vocabulary a little bit though I still wouldn’t say that I was in any way an avid reader. I think, far and large, the one reason why I never got into reading books a lot was that I couldn’t find any that fully captivated my imagination. The books were often to dry, too common, or too much about advertising how well the author could write instead of telling a story. Something along the lines of, “watch me describe this for forty pages and then fall asleep from crushing boredom.”

It wasn’t until Middle School that I had any type of desire to write. I had an English class where we had the task of making a poem which we were to present. I, of course, had no idea how to successfully write a poem. However, after a long time was spent thinking and trying to figure out what goes into a poem, I just decided to think about the thoughts that came into my mind and try to give them words. A little rhyme scheme wouldn’t hurt either so the poem wouldn’t be so monotonous. The poem’s name was Bonds of Blue and I believe it still stands as the best thing I ever wrote because it might have been the only thing I have ever written that really gave a sense of the emotions and thoughts that I was trying to convey.

Since that time, I have gone on to write poetry on a recreational basis. Usually the poems were for my eyes only, though I would write a few for certain people if it were an occasion or I thought that it fit the situation.

I think that the type of writing I do has evolved a lot since then. I’ve no desire to bore you with showing off how deep my vocabulary can be. On the contrary, I try to keep it simple enough so that everyone can read whatever I write and that people don’t get bored trying to figure out what I mean. Granted, everyone will take their own unique meaning from any piece of art or literature and I am completely fine with that.

Writing is also a way for me to get what I might otherwise be incapable of communicating from my head to the paper. The sentences and some of the rules (which I am prone to break, I know) are like pieces of a puzzle. Since my mind is built on the principles of logic, I find that puzzle to be particularly interesting. An interest that has guided my pen on a number of occasions.

Recently, I have discovered that I do like to read. I just didn’t know that I liked to read until I found fantasy novels. Of course, I have certain tastes and requirements of what will make me read or stick with a book, but I have found a certain passion for the endless possibilities that they provide for environment, story, and character growth.

In addition to reading and writing poetry, I have also been writing a blog about my experiences in Korea and have been writing a fantasy novel of my own. The blog is quite easy to write because I only update when I’m summarizing things or when I want to make a point about something. The novel can be somewhat of a trying experience since it requires me to have inspiration before I put my fingers back to the keys. Despite the challenge, I have amassed 23 pages and 5.5 chapters, so far. I must admit that I’m growing more and more pleased with myself with each chapter I complete. I tend to think about the mistakes I made early on, but want to complete the section of the story, so I correct my errors as I continue to write. This process is very similar to one I undergo in real life: making mistakes and becoming more successful by avoiding those same mistakes in the future. So the process is somewhat painstaking, but the growing pains are worth it since the end product is a manifestation of something that is in my mind, which I’ve already stated, has been largely my purpose in writing.

At any rate, I find that writing is an experience that has enriched my life and that enrichment has given me passion to continue in it and grow as a writer and a person.

My book is called The Mortal Coil and I will make sections of it available to read once I reach 50 pages and have corrected some of the mistakes early on – more or less a second draft. It focuses on themes of “Nature vs. Technology,” “Poor vs. Rich,” and one character’s struggle with their own mortality. Please let me know if you have an interest in reading it and I might be able to make the first draft material available to you.