My first book ever

I’ve written stories since I was a little kid, but I was sixteen the first time I wrote a full manuscript meant to be sent to publishers. I look back at it now and realize it was a book just to get my thoughts, expressions, and emotions on paper. The fantasy, at seven hundred thousand words in length, was also full of plot holes and cliches. But it also needed to be.

There is something almost innocent about writing the first few books without any ideas about the rules of writing. It’s what’s in the head, the raw material, and often what’s in the head can be a bit messy. That’s what my first book was like. Messy and with a lot of emotions stuck inside. By putting the words on paper, I could express the chaos I couldn’t otherwise. It was what I needed at the moment.

I still look at that book and feel particular pride in it; the story is still close to my heart. To this day, I feel the story wakes curiosity in me, not really finished, not fully told, my fingers sometimes itching to bring it back to life.

In a strange way, writing that book was the start of taking myself seriously as an author, and that’s the feeling I still cherish. Because taking yourself seriously is essential, it means you take your artistry seriously.