When I was eleven years old, I attempted write my first novel. I grabbed a note book and a pen and started writing by hand. I called it, 'The Awful Pumpkin Patch.' After I had let my teacher read my first five chapters I would learn about 'target audience'. Sad to say I scrapped the story and eventually lost the note book I had written it in.

In high school, I would have another falling out. I ended up started working on a manuscript called The Stalker. I managed to get a little over twenty chapters. Students and teachers read it alike and enjoyed it, but something was missing. It wasn’t completely my own idea and thus the evil snake of plagiarism showed its ugly head, and I once again learned another valuable experience. Praise is no fun when people are praising someone else’s words.

Kenn closed his eyes and prayed to the gods. “Mother of Children, please forgive the life I have lived and save me from this man who stands before…”

“Do you think that the Mother of Children would even think to help you after what you have done to her children?” said the Shade. “The Gods help those who are willing to help themselves and regret what they have done. You regret nothing.”

I do have a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment, and I have mixed feelings about it. In one sense most of the textbooks I already owned (how to write), and sometimes I felt I wasn’t learning anything new or that I didn’t already know. However, I am highly critical of my own writing (aren’t we all?). So, one good thing was having my stuff read by strangers and it taught me the most valuable lesson. I’m not as bad as I think.