In My Opinion

About Me

If you haven't read my profile, then start there and come back. I'll wait. :)

Done? Okay. So, a little more information pertaining to my mindset with editing/constructive criticism:

I come from a family with strong values, including a love of learning, teaching, creativity, good stories (in all media), and books. Especially books. Back in the day when the Harry Potter series was brand new, and we had to wait for each consecutive book to get published (gasp), we worked out a system, so we all got to read the books in a timely fashion. My brother got the newest book first, since he could read the fastest (two days for even the last and thickest book if he didn't eat - which he didn't unless we reminded him), then me, then my mom, and then my dad. I got in trouble for reading in class, and so did my brother. The public library was one of our favorite places as children. We regularly checked out the maximum number of books every visit, and then I assigned myself at least one chapter per night from each book, or more if needed, to get all the books done before I had to return them. And then I realized we never finished our textbooks in school, and that bothered me, so I took it upon myself to assign myself reading, so I finished each textbook before the end of the semester, even when the rest of the class didn't.

Yes, I can be a little OCD. And a perfectionist.

There were always writing assignments in school, but the first writing I tried outside of the classroom was collaborative fanfiction with two of my cousins. This will also date me, but we used to type sections to each other through MSN Messenger. Ever wondered what would happen when Dragon Ball Z, Rurouni Kenshin, DC, and Marvel met? A lot, especially with three teenagers/pre-teenagers adding in their original characters and alternating the author every few sentences with the intention, quite often, of stumping the next author. I wish I still had the files of those stories. *sigh*

I began my first original story when I was twelve, and I still work on it on-and-off. High school and college got busy, leaving me less time for writing (since, you know, I was reading and outlining my textbooks on my prerogative), and then adulting began, and...writing gradually disappeared from my life. Until I developed disabling migraines. Three years into the journey to find something that relieved my symptoms (still not there), I got bored with watching YouTube (the only activity I could tolerate when my migraines were at their worst), and I picked up writing again. Strangely enough, I found that writing is something I can do during all but the worst of migraines. Reading can still be a challenge, but if I concentrate hard enough, I can often get lost in the story and forget the migraine for a while. So, I joined Wattpad, started a fanfiction (going back to my roots to ease back into writing), and voila. Here I am.

Now, I wasn't the English major in my family. That would be my brother (who is an amazing author, and I'm trying to get him on Wattpad, too, but he has this thing called a life that gets in the way). But he and I used to edit each other's work all the time, and since we're both pretty solid on the basics (spelling, punctuation, and grammar [SPAG]), that editing was usually more in-depth. We discussed ideas, phrasing, placement of paragraphs, ideas to make descriptions clearer, and so forth. My mom is my primary source of feedback right now, and she's just as good at making me think deeper about what I'm writing and how I'm writing it. As I've become more involved in the community on Wattpad, I've discovered awards, reviews, communities, etc., and since I've been getting the urge to edit what I read and offer that same (hopefully) helpful feedback to others, I've been dipping my toes in the waters of feedback requests and judging. And I absolutely love it.

So, since I need to organize and list everything to satisfy my OCD, I had to write this book.