Journal #11: "A Piece of Fiction - Courtney"

I am a huge fan of fiction writing. It's the only kind of writing I am truly interested in crafting on my own time. For me, fiction is much easier to write than any non-fiction or autobiography. I've always had an active imagination, and I adore how my stories just flow out of my mind naturally and onto any given paper (or computer program). I don't believe there are any limitations to fiction writing, and that's what makes it so fun and inspiring. I've never been interested in writing journalism, or essays, or an autobiography, or whatever else comes with non-fiction writing. Those are the stories that are told a thousand times. Those are the stories that are forever ingrained in your brain. When I'm faced with fiction, I feel a certain freedom; you never know how your story is going to end, you never know where it will take you. It's a journey, and yes, it is a struggle at times. I haven't heard of any talented writer that doesn't experience writer's block now and then. Personally, I find the process of fiction writing to be very indecisive for myself. I am such a perfectionist when it comes to my passions that it takes me a very long time to become satisfied with the finished product, and it is only when I consider myself satisfied that it is considered a finished product.

Looking back on my past endeavours into writing, I find it quite funny that I used to groan at the simple thought of writing my own stories. It used to be such a stress and hassle for me; I could never come up with anything "good." I realize now that the only problem with writing stories back then was that I wasn't focusing on the topics I was interested in. When all the other kids wanted to read about bunnies and talking mice, I was always more interested in serial killers or the supernatural. I've always had more of an "adult taste" in books, and if I knew then what I know now, I would have started reading "older" books a long time ago. Nowadays, my interest in writing my own stories is at an all-time high. I have so many ideas for plot lines and characters that I would love to one day have completed and shared with others. I have so many of these brilliant concoctions, in fact, that I have to save them on my computer just to make sure that I remember them all. Long novels are my favourite to read, although I'm sure the process is one hell of a ride. But when the time comes, I know I will be up for it.

It's easy to gather information on the Internet and slop together a few sentences that include facts, and dates, and names, and places, and blah, and blah, and blah. Personally, I like to go over my own essays and opinion pieces just to take in my own writing style. I try to always keep my writing polished and make sure grammar and punctuation are evident. I always love finding interesting words that hardly anybody uses to explain my reports; not only will it be unique and stick in your head, but at least it won't be that boring to mark. That is my biggest problem with non-fiction writing; it gets very boring very fast. It is more of challenge for me to write about something that I'm not particularly interested in than it is to write about something that I am interested in, already having stated that there are no limitations to the world of fiction. All in all, I simply enjoy being able to stretch my writing abilities from different types and styles of writing, and to try different things. Every journal, essay, or short answer question I complete for school is helping my writing a little bit more every time. And because of that, I am inspired to keep on writing.