I'd always had stories in my head. When I was really young, I used them in scenarios with my Barbie dolls. As I got a little older, I used them to entertain myself when I was bored. Stuck someplace with my parents? Zone into a story.
But I never actually wrote anything down until I was in 8th grade.
A friend of mine decided to write a story and used everyone in the class as characters. She created a plot line with my character that I hated, and despite my pleas, she refused to change it. That angered me and I decided I'd write my own story. Only instead of using real people to play roles, I had fictional characters right from the start.
It was melodramatic and I never finished it, but that story for all its flaws is what hooked me on writing. I loved exploring my characters and seeing them come to life and take over the story. Unlike with drawing, which is an interest, but not a passion. Writing was clearly my passion. No matter how far short I fell from the vision I had, I was willing to keep working at it and working at it. I have folders (mostly digital) full of projects I started and never finished, but I was learning.
To this day, my characters will come in and take control, and if I write something they don't want to do, they go on strike. This can be frustrating as hell, but they're also always right. But don't tell them I said that!
