The Chronicles of Cara Fox: Entry 1

Quick author's note: I am so excited to start these weekly entries, but I feel that I must remind anyone reading this that these are my candid and personal thoughts and feelings about my writing journey. I neither have the desire nor the intention of trying to influence anyone's feelings or beliefs. These entries are simply a way to help others understand and get to know me. Without further ado, let's get started! :)

The image below is a page from Amanda Lovelace's Slay Your Dragons journal. (I was not paid to write this, and I do not personally know Amanda Lovelace, but this journal inspired me to write these entries, so thanks, Amanda! (P.S. your poetry is amazing! <3)

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If you've glanced at my bio, you may have noticed that I shared a secret. Honestly, it's a secret I gladly reveal because it's my "origin story," so to speak. In my younger years, I absolutely, unequivocally HATED writing. I loved to read. No qualms about reading at all. (But that's something we'll talk about another day.) But writing on the other hand... Oh, boy. "Thank you, next!"

Once upon a time, I found writing to be tedious and unenjoyable. Now, I could list off all the reasons why it was terribly unbearable back then, but I'll keep it simple: it was mandatory. Maybe I secretly have a thing against doing what others want me to do, but the truth was, during my middle school years, I was forced to write about prompts and topics that I didn't care about. A lack of interest is a silent killer. Who knew, right? But to top off being forced to write unmemorable papers, my grammar was terrible. And when you see a million red marks covering your work, it sorta deters any and all desire to write independently. All of which, brings me back to my first point. It. Was. UNENJOYABLE.

When something doesn't bring you happiness, you're less likely to do it. So, for a while, writing just wasn't my thing. However, that changed one day when a friend of mine shared a story she wrote with me. Being a lover of reading since I was born, I gladly read her work, and shared my thoughts and feelings about what she had so far. This happened for quite sometime until she eventually inspired me to try writing. Ironically, it wasn't her writing that inspired me, but her words.

I asked her, "How can you write in your free time when we're always writing for class?" I remember how she just shrugged and smiled at me before saying, "This is just for fun. So, why wouldn't I?"

BOOM! Drop the mic. All noise cease.

Could it honestly be that simple?

Those words probably don't seem like much, but in that moment, it was like an awakening. I still can't comprehend how I never thought of it myself, but I guess, sometimes, it takes hearing it from someone else to really reach you. (Ain't that always the way?) From that moment on, I decided to try writing for fun. I wrote realistic fiction and drama before moving on to fantastical adventures and romances. My friend and I would exchange our stories and write comments at the end of our chapters about what we liked and wanted to know more about. I still have some of those old spiral notebooks that we snuck into our backpacks and hid between our class books.

The more I wrote, the better my writing got. (Both in my stories and in my classwork.) I began to use grammar properly, my characters gradually got actual dialogue instead of screenplay-like lines, my descriptions improved drastically, and I found my voice, so to speak.

So, yeah, eons ago, I despised writing. But now, it is one of the great loves of my life. And while I can go on forever talking about writing and my works, we'll save it 'til next time. :)

Lots of love,

Cara <3