An avid reader will eventually turn their thoughts toward writing. I can trace the impulse to write back to the age of six, but these early attempts were always quick and fleeting, soon replaced with some other dream or childhood ambition. It wasn't until I was sixteen that I began to think of it seriously. For the next decade and a half, I wrote numerous short stories as well as a few unfinished novels. But as I grew into adulthood, the need to pay the bills turned this passion into a hobby as I pursued a career in computer programming. 

It was regulated to evenings, weekends, and dictating scenes in the car on my daily commute. Looking back, I'm disappointed I never did any of the things that might have pushed my writing to a level beyond merely telling myself stories. Had I taken steps to improve, I might have become published at that time instead of only fantasizing about becoming an author. But I never went to any classes, found a mentor, or joined a writing group. Writing was a personnel and private undertaking, a misguided point of view that went hand in hand with my severe social anxieties. And besides, writers are born, not made...or so I told myself.

This only led to disappointment and discouragement, and in my early thirties, I no longer felt I had anything to say. Certainly not anything worth listening to. So, I put this dream away, locked it in a drawer, and forgot about it for the next ten years.

It took a period of profound dissatisfaction with my job to bring me back to it. After managerial changes where I worked turned my stimulating career into a rote job, I needed some outlet to obtain the sense of accomplishment I now lacked. My mind began creating stories almost as a game. It wasn't long before I started writing them down for my own amusement. 

This inevitably led to wanting to share them with people. And when I looked for a place to expand my audience beyond my spouse and a handful of friends, I fortunately came across Wattpad. Proclaimed as the YouTube of the written word in its early marketing, Wattpad is a free online platform for readers and writers. And it proved to be the perfect place for me to get my stories in front of the eyes of thousands of readers, develop my craft, and network with other authors. It also provided me with my first taste of success when my novel, Mr. 8, gained wide popularity and succeeding beyond my wildest expectations. The self-confidence it gave me was even more worthwhile than the publishing deal that came from it.

I'm no longer as active on Wattpad as I once was and choose to focus on non-online sources like anthologies and magazines. These more traditional literary outlets provide me with the chance to work with different editors (each one helps me grow in a new way), as well as helping to expand my audience.

I'm currently writing numerous short stories and longer works.