A Perspective: My Journey as a Creative Writer

How many people are considered ‘gifted’? To begin with, I definitely was not. I always viewed myself as an average person. I literally did nothing out of the ordinary. I would like to think that no one was born a poet or an essay writer. The thing is, when we were babies, we spoke gibberish. We cried or threw a tantrum because we could not successfully translate what we wanted into words. Subconsciously, you learn to catch on, from daily conversations with your parents and the people around you. From then on, we were taught how to read and write. Soon enough, we grow up and become fully literate.

My Best and Worst Subject in School

Even before I started kindergarten, I knew that I hated math. Numbers frustrate me so much that I honestly just get barely-passing marks. My disdain for it grew even more in high school when letters from the alphabet started to appear in equations. Algebra and calculus – man, I am awful at it! I truly am unable to comprehend why it was added in the curriculum. Personally, I think just learning the basics of math like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are enough to get you by. Unless you are pursuing a math-related course or career path, is there ever a need to apply these complicated formulas in real life?

How bad I am in math is in contrast to how well I excel in English – well, from my standpoint. Perhaps, I just am not wired to be math-oriented. My teachers would always use my essays as a sample to the class. I presume that it became some sort of an academic validation for me. I loved it and so I devoted myself to making my essays top-tier. Once, a friend of mine made fun of me for wanting to become an essay writer. Back then, there were not a lot of online tools for essay writing – now, of course, you can find an online essay writer to guide you through any essay writing task with ease.

A Dream

My creative writing process began when I got really passionate about reading. The book that really had me hooked is the coming-of-age novel titled, ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott. I was overjoyed when I found out that the book has been adapted into several movie versions. The 2019 film adaptation directed by Greta Gerwig is by far, my best-loved one. It felt very refreshing to watch and the casting for the characters were perfect as well. Jo March, my favorite March sister from that book, is an aspiring writer. She is a strong-willed character and has an unconventional attitude towards life. I can totally relate to her in many aspects.

From there, I decided that I wanted to be a writer just like her. I am grateful that I came across that book because it allowed me to discover a newfound passion. Before that, I was uncertain of my career choices. Now, I have a dream that I can look forward to.

Writing Process

I feel that each writer or author has their own distinct literary style. At this stage, it is completely fine if you have not discovered it yet. As I see it, I am still figuring out and determining what works for me too. From what I have read, there are four steps to writing and it is labeled as a recursive process.

Unknowingly, I think I have been practicing that process. Prior to my draft, I would brainstorm an idea to work on. To be frank, I do not really know how some might say, one gets into the ‘spirit of writing’. Most times, it just happens out of nowhere. What I do know is – when I get inspired about a topic, I immediately start writing a draft about it. I would put the points that I would like to elaborate on in bullet form first so that I can expand on them later. I find that it helps me focus better and not go off topic. In creative writing, it is of great importance to be as descriptive and detailed as possible. As a result, I tend to write about my ideas in real-time so that no thoughts or feelings would be forgotten. Before submitting my work, my last course of action is to revise and edit what I have written accordingly.

On top of that, one should also rely on media whether it be indulging in novels or on becoming a film-enthusiast. I find that those were of great assistance in improving my fluency in writing. The more one reads, the more extensive their vocabulary becomes. To add more, watching movies regularly has helped me visualize scenarios better. In summary, creative writing gets progressively easier once one gains more writing experience and gets into the groove of it.

Oh and of course, I pour myself a cup of coffee to feel like an actual writer.