“And what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?” —Chapter 1,
Down the Rabbit-Hole
The world is your oyster.
I’ve heard this saying a couple of times but i have no idea where it stemmed from and sincerely, i don’t get it. You can let me know if you get it though, I’m interested.
I needed a starter and this came to my head immediately.
The first story i think i ever wrote was with pictures. I drew characters using stick figures with some ruffles on the head to indicate a woman and i drew bubbles for their conversations. I can’t remember what it was about in detail but it was probably some childish thing because i wrote it in primary school. Then i stopped.
On a particular day, 3 to 4 years later, two of my friends wrote stories i really loved and that was when i picked up my pen.
I’ve always been the girl with vivid imaginations. I watched a lot of movies and cartoons as a kid and i also read a lot of books. Books for my age, books for adults; Crime, law, romance etc but they were purely fiction.
I didn’t read non fiction till i was almost 20.
“Imagination is the only weapon in the war with reality.”
– The Cheshire cat
Some psychologists will say i was running from something and that was why I buried myself in these things but it was quite the contrary.
The movies, the books, the cartoons made me feel like my imaginations were real and were possible and for a child, isn’t that what gives the most happiness?
So back to when i picked up the pen. I wrote one story and passed it around during prep to my friends, they would drop comments and it started.
It became a norm to write, it felt natural,like breathing.
The process was simple for me; Create the characters, create the storyline and drop the cliffhanger. I loved it.
There was an endless flow to the stream of stories i wrote in the brown journal that i always kept in my school bag.
Then i grew older and Life just wasn’t as simple anymore. I experienced my first writers block,
I started feeling like an imposter and i felt my stories were wack and no one enjoyed them.
The idea would come like a light bulb begging to shine and i would write again and it would just frow dim .
The audience depleted. I had outgrown my journal and even though i had a wider platform, it still felt lonely.
“The best way to explain it is to do it.”
—The Dodo
The thing with something as natural as breathing is you don’t stop.
That’s what has kept me going so far.
God gave me this talent, he gave me to spread my light and let people see his glory and i do not take it for granted.
The very web of my life has been shapened and mapped out to fulfill an expected end and the seed was sown over 20years ago when i drew just pictures. Now the tree has grown and is still growing, the flowers bloom.
Hopefully you’re reading this and maybe you’re also in my shoes and there’s you with a waterfall of imaginations and your endless itch to write.
Pick up the pen and create your world.
Write that horror story, that crime drama, that romance, write that book, write that poem. Let people feel the emotion.
I’m not promising a billion readers in one day but even if it’s just one person that you’ve allowed to share in that world, to feel the emotions you felt as you wrote, to close their eyes and imagine your world, it’s more than enough.
And all you need in this journey of course is just enough.
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
“I don’t much care where”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
– Alice and The Cheshire Cat
P.s : All quotes are excerpts from one of my favorite books ever: Alice’s Adventures in wonderland by Lewis Carroll
