Experience is Key

When I started writing Devoured, I knew right away that it was something I *should* do. I’ve always had a vivid imagination. It’s something that I never really lost from my childhood, and I’m very grateful to have it.

As I was writing I kept thinking “Why didn’t I start doing this years ago?” I have so many story ideas. I could have 20 more books by now if had I started 15 years ago. I think though that I could not have written Devoured back then. Not because I wasn’t intelligent enough, but because I didn’t have enough life experiences to pour into a story. With time comes wisdom and that wisdom is essential to my writing.

Every experience in your life (the good, the bad, the strange) leaves something with you. Those somethings are exactly what I call upon to be able to create a story, any story. Without them, the stories would just be words with no meaning or emotion.

So, everything in my life has lead up to this point. The time my home was destroyed by a tornado. The time my big crush finally told me she liked me too and we kissed for the first time. The time when I was kid, riding a red wagon down a giant hill, heading straight towards a tree completely out of control and it suddenly veered off at the last second for no apparent reason.

It doesn’t stop there though. I, like everyone else, am still experiencing life. So whether it be an unexpected hug from someone I barely know or I happen to find myself longing for something I know I will never be able to have. Those things give me the wisdom to write stories that I love to read.