This semester I am taking intermediate then advanced fiction writing classes. I am beginning writing my first novel, which is a huge step for me or anyone. Writing fiction is a new experience for me. I first started writing in high school. Throughout junior high, I was encouraged to journal by my siblings and grandma, and I tried it some, but mostly because I had to. The words felt unnatural, and grammar was a confusing chore, so I tried my best to avoid writing.

In high school, however, I had a lot on my mind. I had exciting experiences with my youth group that I knew I would forget if I didn't write it down, so I started journaling my significant experiences and thoughts, and it felt freeing. The words began to flow, and I soon realized that my journal was a place where I could communicate the thoughts I wanted to speak to others but didn't feel like I could. Often it seemed as if people were too busy to listen, so if I couldn't talk to anyone about it, I would write it down.

Soon my journaling turned into blogging on Tumblr and writing on Facebook. Now I was beginning to share my thoughts with the world, and I enjoyed it. When it came time to go to college, the only major I could think of doing was writing. I had only ever written nonfiction which came. Naturally, fiction was another world, which I feared to step into.

At SNHU the first class I took in 2016 was Intro to Creative Writing. For this class, we could try a variety of different forms of creative writing: nonfiction, fiction, screenwriting, and poetry. Now was my chance to challenge myself, to try writing fiction and see if I could do it. I started by writing a scene for one of our assignments. It wasn't perfect, but it was easier and more fun than I thought it would be. I pictured the scene in my mind and wrote what I saw. My peers enjoyed the scene, and I began to think maybe I can do this. So, for the final project, I wrote a complete short story with multiple scenes, dialogue, and unique characters.

My first story wasn't the best, but I realized I could write fiction, I enjoyed it and could improve and even do well at it. I changed my major to include concentrations in both nonfiction and fiction. This semester I am finally in my intermediate fiction workshop, next is my advanced fiction class, and I am starting work on my first fantasy fiction novel.

Writing a novel is daunting at first because you have all these ideas jumbled in your mind that you have to organize into logical plot and scenes. Then each character needs to be thought out to the point of mimicking real life.

It's not easy, but when you push yourself to do it despite your self-doubt, it's rewarding. This is my own story, my own world, my own characters I am creating, no one else's, and I have the complete freedom to create it however I want. That is why I love writing fiction. Writing a story is the act of complete creation with nothing but your imagination and a pen and paper or in my case a laptop, with the exception of random things you research and take notes on to make your story more believable.

Sometimes I laugh at the strange things I find myself researching. I have researched name meanings, different kinds of dragons and mythical creatures, and just recently I was researching how sheep give birth. I used to think that writing fiction meant you had to know everything you were writing about in your head, but the truth is most of it you don't know, you just get good at researching and finding the answers to things you don't know. The whole thing is a learning process.

I am slowly adding page by page, inventing, researching, writing, revising, and writing again. I can't wait to see this story take form and the next story and the one after that, and I look forward to sharing them with you