An important part of every writer’s journey is the transition from seeing ourselves as “someone who writes” to seeing ourselves as writers.  We asked all the Go Dog Go Baristas to tell us a little bit about their journey as a writer.  We hope you enjoy learning more about the Baristas and are inspired by their stories.

 

When you did you start writing?

 

I started writing songs and poetry when I was 14 years old, but didn’t create my first character until I was 18 or 19, and I didn’t know I was writing the protagonist of one of my books (which I am far from having fully written) until another year or two later. Now at age 25, I have decided I’d like to dedicate more time and effort to writing and hope to have at least a set of short stories released by next year. I only started tending to this blog regularly about one year ago because it was a way for me to practice creative writing while sitting at work.

What kind of writing do you do?

I like to write fiction/fantasy when writing stories, and just about anything in poetry (but who doesn’t enjoy simply writing a gag-inducing love poem, eh?) but most especially nature, friends, and memories.

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

Sitting in a small, gray cubicle at work all day, I wish I could say I found inspiration in the particularly clean, white ceiling or brilliant fluorescent lights, but that’s simply not the case. I often have to draw inspiration from my memory, walks outside around the business park, or pure imagination. I like to imagine a particularly silly little man who does acrobatics around my desk, knocking over my water bottle and splashing into my cup of coffee. But that is only when I am at work. Otherwise, I am inspired by lakes and autumn leaves and hiking trails and just about anything nature, as well as good people, and the science behind how the whole universe works.

What are you current writing rituals/practices? 

On WordPress, I usually check the Daily Post’s one-word prompt every day to see if that will jog my writing bone, but otherwise, I usually have to be somewhere public or mostly public, eavesdrop on some conversations, and picture an imaginary creature and the type of havoc it would wreak. Sometimes I even bring a little, plastic gryphon toy with me to help. He usually does something ridiculous like topples a chair or breaks a light loose from the ceiling, and that’s when I start writing.

When did you start thinking of yourself as a writer?

I started considering myself a writer after developing my first character (which is a very far cry from actually writing a story), but that’s when it wasn’t just cheesy, catchy songs anymore. To me, the moment I had a character who went on adventures, even if most of them stayed in my mind and didn’t make it to the page, I was farther along in writing than I had ever been before, and farther than most ever get.

What are your future writing goals?

I would like to publish a poetry book possibly by the end of the year, and sometime between now and the day I die, I’d like to have a couple series of books either for my bookshelf or someone else’s. It’s not a very specific goal, but having no formal training and nothing else to go off of, it’s the best that I can do.

“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God.” – Sidney Sheldon