My Writing: An Overview
During my primary school years we had the occasional speed writing prompt or assignment during tests and exams in class. But even though I was an avid reader, and managed to come up with something to fill the lines more often than not; I never really sat down and wrote anything for myself until around the time of my last primary school days.
My first foray into creative writing was an awkward Pokémon fanfiction that featured Mary Sue and her Pikachu. More on that and the other fanfics which came afterwards elsewhere... but I think it bears mentioning seeing as I may not have been spurred on to write at all if it hadn't have been for the love of the Pokémon universe.
A year or two (and a couple of other fanfics) later during highschool, the seeds of Samalin was born after English period and - once again - a free creative writing assignment. Being my first 'original' (whilst admittedly highly reliant on The Hero's Journey) story that lasted more than a page or two, it holds a pretty nostalgic place in my heart despite its awfulness.
My next attempt swung the tone from optimistic to grimdark in a story originally titled Dojemon, then Creatures. Started out inspired by one of those ideas you get for the 'epic' climax of a story but have to work out what comes beforehand. Whilst setting the scene proved really fun to write in all incarnations of the beginning, it was the middle which stumped me; and so became the second original story to peter out halfway through.
Werrets, the revisit of Samalin's universe, became 2007's NaNoWriMo attempt after finding the writing challenge online and figuring it could be a fantastic motivation to just keep on going with a project rather than ditching it for something new and more exciting. Once again, this dimension-hopping tale about anthropomorphic animals scattered across worlds was a ton of fun but as I only had the vaguest outline prepared (and as November was deep into exam/assessment time at university) I only managed about 27k words until faltering.
About halfway through university, the original inspiration for Ancient Wing came to me just a little time after Werrets had and derailed the motivation to continue the latter. Once again distracted by the shiny new idea about tribes of raptors both feathered and scaled and their monkey-like prey in a strange boy meets dragon plot which ended up far too pretentious and angsty for its own good. The prequel I started a few years later introduced more worldbuilding and expanding on the plot (I use the term in the loosest sense) and characters to come afterwards.
Well, NaNoWriMo 2008 rolled around and with it a spitefic lambasting a certain popular-at-the-time fantasy series that eventually became its own story with its own characters and plot. Doesn't seem so long ago with the vivid memories of nearly going the same way as 2007's attempt; but struggling on and bashing out the wordcount (turning off my inner critic/editor) no matter how ridiculous - and somehow, somehow, I crawled back to hitting that word goal and kept with it until the end. And I'm so glad I did. From a story which was deliberately meant to turn an already published novel or two on their heads I discovered more about the two worlds and an integral character from Samalin and Werrets than I had even known before in some bizarre linking of universes and fantasy species the more I wrote. The rewrite remains in limbo but at least the story ended up finished (for once).
Now that I was well and truly hooked on attempting each NaNo, the ideas flew hard and fast each successive year. A pity, then, that the words just didn't follow suit. 2009 and 2010's story barely even got off the ground. 2011 was even more pitiful. That being said, 2011 marked the start of a collaborative effort with my writing bud who was back in the area for a while on holidays: The Crusade of Regarand: a fun romp through Ye Olde Fantasy Land with a girl and a gryphon duo of treasure hunters. For 2012's NaNo I tried writing a prequel, and a spinoff story set in the same universe in 2013. Finally in 2014 I took another shot at the 2012 prequel and made it to 50K (but only because of that original attempt - so cheated, in other words). Took a gap year in 2015 and concentrated more on writing fanfiction and editing previous work rather than just plunge ahead. What will happen in November 2016? I haven't decided yet. It'd be good to finally get something printed though.
I don't know why it took me until my second/third year of highschool to start writing. I guess it just never clicked until then. Back in the day, seated at the family's old Mac LC575 (RIP) on Microsoft Word, some pop CD playing on the ancient music program... I came to discover what it feels like to enter that different headspace and feel the words flow from (at first halting, then slowly growing more rapid-fire as I learned how to touchtype) keystrokes to digital page.
I've always written stories with a fantastical bent of some sort, due to my love of the F/SF genres in general. Books with talking animal characters (with or without humans to go with) have also been a definite favourite. Back in the beginning I'd at times throw in ridiculous references to pop culture that didn't belong at all (the dragon character in my first story quotes a snippet of a t.A.T.u song lyric, of all things) and the prose itself was confused, rambly, and reeking with self-importance. Ah, well; we all have to start somewhere.
Over a decade later, still nothing's been published (self or otherwise)... owing to that pesky inner critic that rains all over my parade when it comes to finishing, editing, and sticking to just one project rather than discarding it for another... oh, and the admittable possibility my more recent attempts are still confused, rambly, and reeking with self-importance!
I wasn't a very good writer in the past, I may not be a very good writer now; but there's no denying to myself how I feel physically and - more importantly - mentally after a good bout of it when I hit that zone and simply write for a time: find I don't have to force or struggle to keep it going and ideas, whether big or small, ridiculous or no, are popping up all over the place as I find it a breeze to continue on. Nowadays the 'zone' is a little more difficult to find and hold on to, but I remember it well and look forward to those moments when I can get them.
I hope to never stop writing. My current goal is to work on revising and finishing 2014's NaNoWriMo manuscript; the prequel to a collaborative story by me and a friend - who is also working on her own original stories and fanfictions on the side - and maybe then have it printed (purely for my own gratification at this stage). Once upon a time getting a publishing contract was a big deal to me; now not so much. It's been so long anyone's had a look at any content besides the fanfiction stuff, by this stage all the rest I've pretty much just written for my personal enjoyment and benefit. That being said, you never know: maybe I'll cross that off the bucket list later on in life - it was a pipedream of mine during my teen years to have something actually properly published! (Once upon a time in my naivety, that was going to be Samalin. Hah!)