Anything & Everything

It all started with a poem.

I was at my grandma's house one summer day years ago, bored out of my mind. "Write a poem," she had encouraged me, pulling out the computer chair.

I remember rolling my eyes and insisting that I couldn't possibly write something acceptable. I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

After more pressure, I sat down at the desk, mostly to please my grandma, and cranked out a poem about nature. I dated it at the bottom and clicked on "Print." Then I handed the poem to her.

She read it over with wide eyes, and I was surprised by her amazement. She immediately showered me in compliments and requests for an encore. "Write another!" she cried, and that I did.

At first, I thought my specialty was poetry. I bought poetry books and checked them out at the library. The Internet was a dependable source of unpublished poets. I joined forums and posted my poems. I entered chat rooms and "read" my prose. I bought a large book of places to send my poetry to be published.

Then I bought a journal. It was big, with a black spiral spine and a fuzzy dark green cover. I wrote every day, and now have completed almost seven journals. I have long since changed my mind about writing. My real specialty is novel writing.

I took a class at Portland State University called, "Writing Unique Fiction." I loved it so much that I took it a second time. I took a "Songwriting Workshop" as well. All three have earned me valuable certificates that I'm told will help when I near high school.

I recently finished a complete novel that I have been working on for more than a year, called, "Maybe Someday." It is about teen pop sensation Taylor Hanson, and his secret, forbidden love with a girl named Trinity. Two sequels are planned, to form a trilogy. The second book will be called, "I'll Run Away," and the third, "From a Distance." After finishing those, I will start a new book that I'm already bursting with ideas for.

Although I love writing anything and everything, narrative writing at school continues to, and always will be, my favorite kind. This is why, while my fellow students groan at the prospect of a pen and paper, I rejoice.