How I Started Writing Fantasy Fiction

As I have enjoyed reading since I was very young, I have also enjoyed writing for almost as long. I’m not exactly sure when I started writing my own little stories, but I do know that I have some very vivid memories of wanting to write a novel when I was in middle school. In fact, there was a specific notebook that was one of the first ones I dedicated to using only for my personal writing.

It was a large wide ruled notebook with a yellow to orange ombre cover with an orange plastic spiral binding. I used this notebook to write simple ideas, parts of actual stories, and random imaginings from books that I read and wanted to be a part of. It was honestly a mixed jumble of sixth grade writing, but I wrote in it so much that the plastic binding started to break a part. After one particular set of ideas, I presented them to my parents to show them. I had brought it into Panera Bread, where we were eating dinner that night, so excited to tell them about the ideas I had come up with. They were very happy that I was so excited. I even asked them both how to go about writing a novel.

That night was the first time I really wanted to write a full story, and I wanted to write a fantasy. It wasn’t yet a completely serious desire, but I knew I really liked writing. Already at this time, I was reading mostly fantasy books, and my mom was reading me the Harry Potter novels. My mind was conjuring up thoughts of writing my own epic adventure with magic and mayhem. Unfortunately, I fell prey to the common struggle of never finding an idea that sparked my interest enough to stick with it. One day, I would be starting a story after flushing out my thoughts on it (I have always been a planner/pre-writer) and the next day I’d get struck with a new exciting idea, and I’d be anxious to flush it out while it was fresh in my mind. Plus, at the time I was much more serious about dancing and thought of writing as a hobby and dancing as a passion.

This went on until I was a sophomore in high school. I was still passionate about dance and was spending most of my spare time in the dance studio. But, one night I had a spark of an idea that really excited me. It felt different to me than my other ideas. I would find this to be the first idea that excited me enough to stick with it. I jumped right in to fleshing out my thoughts and quickly wrote three chapters worth of content. Boy, it was bad writing, but in my eyes, I thought it was so great. I presented the first chapter to my parents so proud of myself. The response was not what I was hoping for… which is quite another story. However, that moment solidified writing as something serious to me. I had gotten less than a glowing review, but I didn’t give up. Instead, I wanted to do whatever I could to make it better.

That summer, I signed up to participate in  a writing program. I spent a month writing five days a week with different prompts and revisions. I wrote fantasy-based works whenever I was able. I worked hard in that program. I wanted to improve, and I finally had the drive to write something and actually publish it. In fact, that program inspired the idea of my first fully finished short story. Though it did take me a lot of time and revisions to make it good enough for me to claim it done.

By the end of that program, I knew I wanted to go to college for writing. I wanted to continue to learn and grow as a writer. Other than that program, I didn’t have any classes in high school that taught creative writing, so I knew that my next step was going to be to learn more in college, and I applied for a creative writing degree. I was fully committed to studying the art of words.

It had always seemed so natural to write a fantasy story over any other kind. It was what I loved to read, and what I read inspired my imagination. In fact, I am always most inspired to write in the middle of reading a good book. There have been many times that I have read something and thought ‘Dang, I wish I could write a character that amazing’, or ‘What I would give to write a story that gives someone this same feeling’. Reading is still my inspiration for writing, and I fuel it every day.

To all my fellow writers, I would love to hear what prompted you to be passionate about writing. Was there a moment that you remember becoming serious about being a writer?