Unwritten

It happened 25 years ago and I still can’t believe they picked my poem to be read in front of the whole school. I would read it as the opening act for our Spring Concert. The Spring Concert was big at our school and many students practiced their various talents for a chance to perform. I went to Catholic School so the school went from Kindergarten to Eighth grade and all were eligible to sign up. Talents ranged from singing, dancing, monologues, magicians and many more. The opening act was always chosen by the school administration and this year they picked my poem, a poem about a monster that lived under my bed. I was in the fourth grade so this was a big thing for me. They had even suggested a small visual dramatization as I read my poem, maybe a bed with a monster under it while I sat on top, a fun introduction to the Spring Concert they said. I was nervous, but I was not going to say no. After all, they chose me so I was going through with it and that’s exactly what I did. I expected to become popular and all the students praise me on how well I did, but that didn’t happen. From then on I did notice an increase in encouragement from my teachers when it came to my writing. At that age, I did not understand what exactly I was doing that they liked, but all my writing assignments from then on were extra neat and well executed. I began to look differently at my writing since that Spring Concert day, was I really that good?

School is definitely the place that sprouted my love for writing and helped me recognize that I had some big potential with it. I started studying Vocabulary more heavily and I made sure to perfect my spelling as these were basic skills for a writer. I paid extra attention in English class when it came to creative writing and writing techniques, I wanted to learn and utilize them all. I also wanted to impress the reader with everything I wrote. I learned you can create worlds with imagery and adjectives, syntax being important as well. An author can invoke emotion from the reader creating allies with characters and dislikes as well. The best imagery has the reader not wanting to put the book down, a constant need to discover character development, and so encaptivating the reader begins to associate real life occurrences with the book’s timeline. One of my favorite book experiences was with Anne of Green Gables. I read the book for the first time in elementary school and again as an adult. Both times there was something so enchanting about Anne with an E that I thought about her outside of me reading meanwhile she’s a made up character. My best friend and I spontaneously acted like we were characters in the book; Victorian women who drank tea with their pinkies out and had accents. As long as I was reading the book, Anne with an E was my friend. That’s talent on the author’s part.

As I got older, I began to expand my writing assignments to outside the classroom. I kept a weekly journal where I transformed my life to become more animated and full of adventure especially in moments I felt emotional. My fifth grade teacher gifted me a blank teacher's grading book that was all full of grids. I used it to survey all the things I saw on my way to school and back home. I did this for years and stopped when I entered High School. I took note of how many different forms of transportation I saw, the exact time I saw a train or plane to measure pattern, I noted the people walking, their sex, age, and based on attire a theory of where they were going. I began to pay attention to the sidewalk and if I saw the same piece of litter everyday, or if I went into the same store at the same time for a week straight would I see the same people or different faces every time? Some days I became specific and noted everything red I saw, loud things, things that came in two’s, small things, animals, and one day I wrote down every customer’s order during a 30 minute time period; I was late to school that morning. This is how I discovered my love for writing short stories. I took the information I collected and evolved my theories into stories. When I peaked with this technique, I left it behind and started a new one. I would then ask my sisters for random topics to write about. I was an excellent writer when given a topic or had a seedling of an idea; I was able to create a story out of anything. I then would ask my fellow high school classmates and that’s when word my story telling would spread.

The more I wrote about topics that were suggested to me the more readers I attracted. Friends, classmates, and students I didn’t know were asking me to write a story about a subject of their choice. They described my stories as being in the feels. My imagery, use of adjectives and metaphors evoked emotions from my readers and they liked it. Most of the girls asked me to write their love story while other requests varied from mad scientist, woman president, to female detectives. One classmate asked me to write a story about the school being the center of a natural disaster, as he described it, “make the school disappear with everything possible...tornados, hurricane, asteroid, war…” and I did. Apparently this story circulated to faculty and I was instructed to stop. The “graphic nature of the school’s demise” was concerning, but because the faculty knew a lot of the student body had input, no one student was disciplined. We were warned so I stopped. But this sparked an idea that I still currently hold on to.

As an adult and mother, writing has become one of my outlets. I am able to bring myself to another world when writing. This helps center myself and become grounded during stressful and overwhelming situations. This is when my best work is produced and my reader experiences all the emotion and passion put into the words on the page. Reading is fundamental and I love to write so why not let me write stories for you? Everyone has ideas or a particular story they wish they could find to read, but cannot find exactly what they are looking for. It happens too often. Let me write the stories you wish to read. I would love to create a platform for readers where they send in their topics, ideas, character specification, small detail, big detail, a whole outline, or just one word and a story is written for them. It brings the imagination of the reader to life as well as fulfilling my passion for writing. Everyone has a desire to see their ideas and imagination come to life and this would be their chance. Ask yourself, “Is there a genre of book or short story that I’ve been wanting to read, but cannot find? Are there any characters, events, or places in a book or short story that you’ve read about that you would have changed completely or partially? A different ending? Or just an idea that you’ve always had, but cannot put into words yourself but would love to see come to life? If the answer is yes to even one of these questions, then this service would be for you. Supporting my passion means supporting your ideas. Let’s support each other.

It’s an amazing feeling when someone enjoys something you have created and it's even a better feeling when you take part in that joy. Life is not a competition where we wait at the finish line taunting who finished behind us, it’s a marathon where along the way we may run into people who we can help, can help us, or collectively help others. The finish line is there waiting for us all, why not enjoy the run while it lasts because once you're finished, there’s no redos.