If you are not surrounded by people who have adopted certain practices as a child, it can be difficult to incorporate those activities into your life. The act of writing was like that for me. Fortunately, over time, I was able to discover the happiness it brings and realise that I could create one for myself even if the people around me did not have certain talents in terms of enthusiasm.
But because I’m a perfectionist, I’ve always struggled with personal development and I really don’t like it. In particular, starting a new venture leads to overthinking and underacting, and so it was with writing. Throughout my life, however, I have adopted some practices that have helped me overcome this challenge.
As a child, I enjoyed playing games on various consoles. Combining this hobby with watching adventure films and reading fantasy novels, I began to experiment with writing. At first, I would write short notes with explanations or summaries to check that I really understood the stories. Another method was to use games as a writing tool. After completing each chapter in the game, I would write from my character’s point of view, almost creating a diary for the character I was playing. I enjoyed this process immensely and it served as a kind of copy process that I thought was a great way to start.
Photo by Derek Story on Unsplash
I used to enjoy literature classes in general, but my interest in them waned as I found them too repetitive and mechanical. However, there was one thing I really enjoyed during this time and that was writing stories. Our teacher would give us key words and a theme and let us create our stories by choosing characters, time and place. Sometimes we would be given the beginning of a story and expected to complete it. I can still remember that for our weekly homework we had to write one-paragraph stories using certain words that were rarely used in everyday life and that included in the main story. My father helped me from time to time and his support was important for my development in this subject.
Over time, the internet has made it much easier to connect with people with similar interests. Even though the forums where we spent time with our friends are long gone (between 2005 and 2015 we spent our time on forums of various interests), I still carry some of those stories with me. In these online communities, we all shared a passionate interest in fiction and fantasy games and films such as “Lord of the Rings”, “Narnia” and “Harry Potter”. Some virtual spaces allowed us to take on characters and role-play. We would create fictional “what if” scenarios and alternate universes to enhance our imagination and writing skills. Although I couldn’t take part in all of them, it was a really enjoyable time, both reading each other’s contributions and writing from the perspective of fictional characters.
Photo by D A V I D S O N L U N A on Unsplash
When I decided to travel abroad for the first time, my excitement was indescribable. I wanted to document the experience not only in photographs but also in writing. Of course, it is important to live the memories in the moment and immortalise them with both pictures and notes. It was fun to record the details, and even now, when I read these notes, many of the memories immediately come back to me. When I returned, I even started a blog to write about my experiences, which made me feel personally responsible to improve my writing skills beyond just taking quick notes.
In life, whatever we choose to do, the initial will and desire to do it consistently is crucial. If you feel strongly drawn to something, pursue it and push yourself to your limits. Give it the time it needs, if necessary, and when the right opportunity arises, take action. Remember, your start doesn’t have to be perfect. The beginning is often the hardest part, but as you dive into the journey, it becomes more enjoyable and the rest becomes easier.
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