I grew up in Waterford, Michigan. Where? It’s a little town about an hour north of Detroit. It’s still my home after all these years.
I spent the first 15 years of my life there, moving from Waterford, to Holly, then Clarkston, then back to Waterford. My parents divorced when I was six, and since my mother worked multiple jobs, I was often alone.
Being an only child, I had to entertain myself. I chose to make up stories. I was a doctor, a scientist, a singer, but only in my mind.
My writing journey began when I discovered Zelda. My first game was Ocarina of Time, and my imagination grew. The only other video games I had played at the time were Paper Boy and Sonic so this was a real treat for me.
I then discovered the Nintendo forums, and with that I discovered fan fiction. I had written a couple things here and there, but I never saw writing as something I would spend a lot of time doing. But, I went for it anyway. Would you guess that my fan fic was actually my first finished story?
Fast forward to 2010, when Mom and I moved to Tennessee where I went to college for audio production (if it has to do with sound, I probably know something about it).
I had heard the name NaNoWriMo thrown around quite a bit, so I decided to try it that year. Everything I wrote up to this point was either Zelda related, or poems. I never journeyed out from beyond that. But this year, I decided to try something different.
I sat in class while the teacher talked about Pro Tools or microphones, and I wrote about a girl who meets a guy in a coffee shop, and falls in love. It wasn’t the best story, but it was something. I wrote my 50,000 words, and I was so proud of myself for sticking with it.
I repeated the process in 2011, and in the summer of 2012 my dad invited me up to Michigan to spend some time with him. One night, I had an idea for a story, so I laid in bed and I scribbled down some notes. It was then that I realized that I was a writer. Writing was what I wanted to do at 2am, not mixing songs.
I went back to Tennessee and I told Mom I wanted to quit college and become a writer. Her response was, “Ok, start with a blog.” That blog is what you are reading now.
Since then, I have moved back to Virginia, continued this blog, finished a novel, and self-published two short stories (which are on the Books page).
And that’s me in a…nutshell? A giant nutshell.
I give you my support. My partner is a writer too, and I’m in love with writing since very young. I will come back to your wordpress every week and give you all the help I can. Good luck, I am sure you can do it. Lots of love to you and your mother.
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You are fantastic. Thank you so much Natasha, I truly, truly appreciate it. And good luck to your partner too!
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Thank you!
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You are very welcome :D!
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Sarah, good for you for forging your own path and following your heart.
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Thank you! And I must admit, it has worked out very well so far :D.
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Awesome! We have a big God, we can have HUGE dreams come true. 🙂
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Amen! I absolutely believe this :D.
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I must say i really relate to your story…it really stirs up emotions i have tried to forget. I like your writing style too,its like you are just talking from the heart and not trying to be clever. Good luck and i will be following your blog for sure 🙂
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Wow, that’s awesome! Thank you very much for the comment and the follow. I really appreciate it :).
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I’ve told you before that you are a writing role model for me. After reading this I realize that you are a life role model for me. It’s so hard for me to not hate myself, or to believe in myself. It’s damn near impossible to take a chance on myself, yet that is what I want to do. That’s why you are my role model. I believe in you when I can’t believe in myself.
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Patrick, thank you. And honestly, this isn’t the half of it. Whatever you need, whenever you need it, you know where to find me. I will do whatever it takes to help you. Believe that :).
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needs must or heads bust. 😉
meaning, if you can’t not write then you’re a writer.
and everything i’ve read about you suggests to me that you are one, and will continue growing into a very good one.
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Thank you! I’m glad I have some confirmation :D. I like that saying (and thank you for telling me what it means).
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Hello.
I have nominated you for the Liebster Award here:
http://just1more.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/liebster-award/
8^>
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Oh how awesome! I am very excited to do this :D. Thank you!
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Fun stuff here. I just started at DG and relate very well to your experience.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it! Good luck at DG, you’re going to need it :P.
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I laughed when I read that you wanted to quit college so you could write. I loved college because it gave me so much time to write, and so much to write about, and valuable feedback on my writing. I chose a major that gave me the freedom to choose a lot of electives, and I chose electives that required research papers instead of exams. I know very little about college social life; I spent my semesters reading and writing; I did my socializing at my summer jobs.
NaNoWriMos were great accomplishments for you, and tests for your talent. Hooray for your publications! Best wishes with your novel.
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I wrote a lot in college, actually. But the degree I was going for was a waste of my time. It wasn’t helping, it was keeping me from focusing on what I really wanted to focus on. So, I quit!
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