Feeling Introverted: A Writer's Journey

Being a writer can be a daunting and scar filled path full of ego bashing and paper cuts. It's also a journey I feel I have been preparing for my entire life. During the darkest times in my life, words were my escape. Books became my refuge. Life seemed a little better when I would either read or write down a story. It is those who took me away that influenced me on the inner most level of my subconscious.

I have been influenced by many writers in my life. Stephen King was my first influence. I mean come on, how many teens wouldn't want to go all "Carrie" on a person who is a complete jerk to you? Stephen King painted a picture like no other. I took a trip through a Pet Cemetery. I was reaffirmed in my opinion about clowns when I read IT and I wept when prisoner John Coffey rode the lightening in The Green Mile. I guess you could say yes, Stephen King has been an influence of mine since I was a teen.

Then came Frank Herbert. Yes, I'm a Dune geek and proud of it. Who wouldn't want to travel through space by stepping in a ship then have space fold around you? His novel was also my first plot within plot experience. I couldn't get enough of all the political intrigue and the underlying spiritual content the Fremen so valiantly fought to hold onto while they struggled for basic freedoms. The deep seeded superstitions and the symbolic nature of Dune took me to other worlds while feeding my thirst for the "Oh My God" feeling I longed for in a good book.

After years of reading and searching for something different, I came across a book called Rules of Ascension: Book one Winds of the Forelands. I was enraptured by the style and sheer genius of the way David B. Coe created worlds within worlds through two very different races of people. The Qirsi gave new meaning to political intrigue and fast paced plot within plot twists and turns that captured my soul. From then on I was a fan.

Even though being a writer can be a lonely path. It is in the sheer inspiration of the writers who come before us that feed the very imagination we use to create on a daily basis. Influence, what a word. It means so much and shapes so many lives. When you breed inspiration with influence you get a person who is a creator of their own reality. I thank you for being there when I needed to escape or when I was grounded. I thank you for entertaining me and for allowing me to believe that anything is possible. Most of all, I thank you for sharing your worlds with me. I hope to one day join your ranks. I have an agent...so maybe I will. Who knows?