Writing stories was a skill I learned by accident. I read everything I could get my hands on, but the idea that I could create such a magical thing like a book, really did not occur to me.

Until I ran out of books to read at the school library.

I read everything. I took every AR test (Accelerated Reader, tests on books that give the reader points). I even became friends with the librarian to the point where she would ask me to preview books she just bought before they were on the shelves. I was at home in the library.

Then, one horrible day, I ran out of reasons to stay in there. According to rules, I would have to leave my sanctuary to face the bitter wilds of the playground to be hunted down by insults, hard dodgeballs that rarely missed their mark, and angry kids looking for an easy fight. It felt like the end.

I sank down into a seat at the computers. If I could find one more AR test to last until the end of lunch…

Except, I opened Microsoft Word by mistake.

A blank page. Then I thought, what if…?

And that was it. I was hooked on writing. I could have any adventure I wanted AND stay in the library.

I wrote for years just for my own enjoyment. Since there seemed to be a collective agreement that writing was not a viable career, I never expected to make anything of it.

Then a friend found a few experimental chapters of mine and pushed me all the way to publishing. I focused on using the little project to learn the self-publishing process so I would be ready when my larger manuscripts got their turn—which distracted me from the fear of putting it out in the world.

A few years after publishing for the first time, I learned the most important thing about my passion…

I am not alone.

I joined the DabbleU community, back when it was still the Story Craft Café, and found my people there.

Hank, Abby, Robert, and Doug became my mentors in my craft. Their constant support—alongside the support of all the other writers I connected with through them—gave me the courage to pay it forward.

As a kid—and even as an adult before Dabble—I  remember feeling alone. I remember feeling like an alien, in my own world, separated from the rest just because I thought differently and saw things differently.

Dabble gave me a place to belong. I wanted to give that to other young writers like me. That’s how my Young Writers’ Workshop began.

Now, I run the program after school as often as I can to give other new young writers the opportunity to advance their passions in storytelling by teaching them different techniques I have learned along the way—and continue to learn. In essence, I want to give them the chance to realize they are not alone either.

Through all these experiences, I learned that is why I write. Through my stories, I want others to not feel alone anymore.

There are others with the same extraordinary passion who will support you and help you grow. You just have to find them.

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The Lord gave me this gift of stories, and I hope to use it the best I can to bring the world together.