Let me give you some constructive criticism: This book sounds terrible. Sure maybe it's popular amongst you and you friends, but the truth is that no one is going to want to read this book. It's too cliche. There are about 5 million books with the exact same subject matter in Toledo and I think you should have given this book at least 10 more years of thought before you...UNLEASHED it.

Anyway, think about what kind of author you are. You just sound too plain. Like some run-of-the-mill annoying teenage girl. You should try something else besides writing because it is REALLY not your strong suit. The most important tip of all: Who do you think you are? You aren't some famous author and you most likely won't ever be one. It's funny how you think you're all important with this cheap, wordpress website and a book (if you can call it THAT) that only YOU will probably buy.

It feels good to know the truth, huh? Now stop crying and save your breath for begging on the streets.

Writer's Note: This is the first in a series of Notes counting down to my high school graduation.

Going to TECHS has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. The college knowledge I've gained over the past four years has been enough in itself, but with the life experience I've gone through added in, I'm glad I chose this school over what would have been my home school.

The past four years has seen a lot of development in my character and my goals. One thing I've noticed over the years is that the style of my writing has always said a lot about me. As I've grown more mature, so has my writing style. As I've become more strange or silly or serious, so has my writing style. Here's a countdown of the biggest influences on my writing style since I started high school:

5. Kaleb Nation

Kaleb Nation, for those of you who don't pay close attention to my MySpace and Facebook updates, is one of my favorite writers, a 20-year-old college student from Texas who has already done so much with his life. He's written a novel [which, incidentally, is going to be released on September 9, 2009; you should check him out at www.branhambric.com], become a famous blogger with KalebNation.com and TwilightGuy.com, and has been a popular radio DJ since he was very young.

I list Kaleb as number Five on my list of high school writing influences because his success has inspired me to reach for all of my goals, both as a writer and beyond. Someday, I hope to meet him in person to tell him this!

4. James Patterson

Ah, James Patterson. Current King of Thriller.

James Patterson's influence on my writing style is probably more stylistic than inspirational - I've only read two "all-ages" series that he's written, and I don't know enough about him and his background to find his story inspirational.

What I do know is that his Maximum Ride series is one of my favorites. Max, the lead/narrator, has taught me a lot about stylizing a character's voice and developing certain patterns of speech.

3. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Spring Semester 2009

This semester's SFF Lit course has had a huge effect on my writing. After I started this course, I started getting more serious about my speculative fiction.

In fact, Dr. Compora's class has led me to make the decision to make my magnum opus, a world-wide fantasy epic, into a serious and mature fantasy rather than the young adult fantasy series that I'd originally intended it to be.

I would HIGHLY recommend the Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature class to anyone who is able to take it. The highly literary way in which the professor helps you to think will help a lot when reading any science fiction or fantasy work, and you'll see it in a way completely different and new.

The downside to that, by the way, is when you go to the drive-in with some friends to watch Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and suddenly discover Oh crap, I'm analyzing the theme and the symbolism!

2. Creative Writing, Fall Semester 2007

Creative Writing in my junior year was the number two most influential power on my writing over the last four years. Whether it was the professor, my classmates, or the two amazing and wonderful people I rode to and from the class with is unclear to me, but all three of those forces made a huge impact on my life.

My professor, who is currently the poet laureate of our area, was one of the most amazing professors I've ever had. He was enthusiastic about our work and never really said negative things - he was always very supportive of all of us, especially me. He's one of the people I'll remember for the rest of my life.

The other people in my class were also influential on my writing, simply because hearing and seeing the work of others is a huge influence on writing. The thing I remember most vividly is when we did an in-class writing based on a short story we'd read. Mine was about a voicemail message; one girl's, though, was based on the twenty-third Psalm. She couldn't even read the story because she was so emotional over it. That is always going to stick with me: the depths that good writing can reach.

1. Relationships

The number one BIGGEST influence on my writing, however, has been the deep relationships I've shared with people around me. Without these relationships, I could never understand the world around me the way that I do, and I could never understand people at all.

One relationship that I found extremely important in my life was the friendship and companionship I had with Trevor during my junior year. He was one of the two people I would ride to Creative Writing with, but his openness and general honesty helped me to understand him [and others] much better.

My relationship with Desiree was equally if not even more important to my development as a writer. That was, in part, because she had the patience to read my work and listen to my babble and point out things like character inconsistencies and things that just didn't work. But knowing Desiree has led me to understand other points of view better than I could have if I hadn't. Her point of view is at times so radically different from my own that it's any wonder that we could even be friends. But somehow she's been one of my closest friends for nearly three years.

Two relationships I've had with other people - by now, I hope you've realized I mean "relationships" more in the sense of "in relation to others" than in the sense of "dating" - are still violently competing for the top spot of influence in my writing.

At the moment, the one who happens to be losing is Jon. His influence in my writing is still very strong: my early perception of him, the way he would calmly hold things back - or hold things in - is a characteristic that I still use in a great many of my characters. I never could quite understand him as he was, so the mystery still makes me philosophically probe humanity in search of an answer. [If you understood that last sentence, tell me: I'll give you a cookie the next time I see you.]

The winner of that battle, the person who to date has been the number one biggest influence on my writing, is my best friend, Tiffany. Words simply cannot describe the great respect and admiration I have for her. There are few people I see as being as strong as she is. I'm sure I could never handle the things that she's gone through. That strength, as well as the almost psychic depth of understanding that she possesses, is something I've tried to find - and hopefully captured - in the characters I've written. Her influence on my writing is probably the deepest I've ever had. Ever. In my entire life.


These people, classes, and events have all been great influences on me and my writing. Some of the experiences were ones that I'm thankful for; others, not so much so. But they all make me who I am, something that nobody can ever take away.




One down -- twenty to go.