I remember my first time writing a story. My father just bought me my first laptop at 12. He told me to start typing because it would be very useful in the future. I started typing by copying my science book. I immediately liked the feel of it, I liked the clanking sounds that my keyboard made when I pressed the letters.
But a few hours later I found a mere typing activity to be boring. There was no soul in it, it was just excitement without any meaning. I wanted something else.
At the time, I remembered that I liked to write stories in my notebooks. Writing them by hand. I liked to imagine myself to be involved in a wild situation. It gave me a rush of adrenaline; it plastered a smile on my face. When the story ended sadly, I was hurt. When I gave a happy ending, I felt accomplished.
So, just like that, I started to write whatever came to my mind. I’ve always loved horror stories. I started by writing a silly ghost story. I can’t even remember the storyline now, but I’m sure it was funny.
Throughout the years I learned what I like and what I don’t like in fiction. I grew to like other genres, I tried different styles in writing, tried to craft different narrative voices, and tried to write better and more complex characters.
Looking back, I know that my motivation to write was pure childlike excitement. And I’m very proud of it to this day. It is still a profound reason for anyone to write, or for anyone to create any art: to freely express oneself and to discover something that we never thought of before.
As a 14-year-old, my readings mainly stayed within my known genre. I only dwelled in familiar places, and I only explored familiar feelings. Never really thought of reading from different genres that can enrich my life and me as a person.
But as I became a high school student who was so into literature, I started to explore more books outside my known genre. I started reading classic literature, and I adored them for their beauty. Jane Austen was as powerful in voicing out her heart as she was in writing complex emotions. Dostoevsky gave me an insight into the damage and deep sorrow that people who are left out by society experience. Umberto Eco spoke to me about how oppressive religious symbolism can be.
As years went by, my style as a writer changed. I don’t write ghost stories for the sake of spookiness only; I write with meaning. Deep in my heart, I want to say something. I have thoughts to voice out, I want alienated people to be seen, and I want the mutes to be heard. I believe writing fiction is a powerful tool that I can use to say something, discover ideas, and challenge popular beliefs. Why things are the way they are? We need to say something.
I was a philosophy student at university. My exploration of philosophical works influenced the way I read and therefore, the way I write. The writer of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, showed me the deep philosophical meaning of the monster that she created. An insight into how shallow a human can be at something fiscal, that communicates wealth even at spectacle level. Someone will bow to you, respect you, speak with a lower voice to you if you just put a façade of wealth in front of them. It is almost impossible for people to grasp that the respected doctor, a well-known one in his league, is the same person who comes and goes to the laboratory with a deformed face and an eerie way of walking.
I learned that stories were invented for people to learn. These well-known authors tried to communicate something: it’s either what they believed or what they wanted to challenge. I, too, write because of that. I may not change the world with my writing, but it’ll be meaningful if someone decides to read any of my writing and it makes them feel better.
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