Today I welcome my friend and writer Alex onto my blog, who discusses why writing is important to him.  Enjoy!

Big thanks to Alex for being today’s guest poster, please make sure to check out his links and details at the end of this post. 

Writing has had a huge impact on my life. Although I only started taking creative writing seriously during the last couple of years, writing has been an integral part of who I am for many years. I’m going to do my best to describe its importance for me in this long-winded ramble reflection.

A Creative Outlet

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always had a big imagination and would occasionally use writing to help express it. For example, I remember putting together a poem about lice in 6^th grade.

I still recall my teacher writing “Yuck!” as part of her feedback. Another story that I remember writing was a fanfiction inspired by the sci-fi strategy computer game Starcraft.

This story, which I wrote when I was in 10^th grade, was about an alien race named the Zerg working together with a dictator on Earth to fight the other two races in the game, Terran (human race) and Protoss (another alien race).

Stories like these inspired me to continue writing more creative pieces. During my senior year of high school, I wrote a story about animals overthrowing a lion dictator.

Some of the stories that I wrote since then were more random, like one involving the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and Thanksgiving, while others were more serious, like an unfinished one about two best friends trying to survive a revolution. Regardless, writing has definitely been a great creative outlet for me.

A Cathartic Outlet

It also helped me with my own struggles. For many years, I’ve struggled with rumination, worries, and lack of confidence. I have made much progress, but still, have a ways to go. Yet, writing has helped me a lot with my hardships by being a mental health outlet.

Often times, my main characters will embody parts of my own struggles. My sci-fi fantasy character, Matt Lee, for example, frequently doubts himself, ruminates often about his difficulties, and is often unable to find peace within his heart.

Writing his journey – and the journey of other characters – has given me a way to express my feelings.

Writing has also helped me boost my spirits. Many of the characters in my stories are supportive, encouraging, and inspiring.

The best example of this is Stephanie Rodriguez, another main character in my sci-fi fantasy stories, always believes in her friends, is always there for them, and encourages them with all of her heart.

She has been through a lot, including bullying, displacement, loss of a dear friend, and seeing cyborgs hurt her loved ones. Yet, she is strong – she remains hopeful, continues pursuing her dreams, and does not allow her pain to stop her from having a heart filled with kindness.

I have several characters like her in my stories. They, like Stephanie, inspire me to not give up and fill my life with much light and joy. I admire them and they empower me.

So, writing has been a cathartic outlet for me.

An Outlet for My Passions

Writing is also an outlet for my passions, especially my passion for human rights. This is because I’m a human rights activist.

When I’m not writing or drawing, I try to share news updates on social media about human rights, contact legislators about issues I’m concerned about and fundraise for organizations that work on these issues.

Since I care deeply and read up about these issues, I try to incorporate them into my stories. Some of the issues that my WIPs (Works in Progress) in recent years have touched on include misogyny, utilitarianism, imperialism, corruption, the rise of artificial intelligence, xenophobia, and other issues.

It’s not always easy writing or reading about these issues. I’ve experienced burn out before from my activism. It can be heart-wrenching too.

Yet, I love being able to combine my creative passions and human rights advocacy through my writing. For me, it’s been a great synergy. I look forward to continuing learning about the aforementioned issues and applying what I learned to my stories.

The Bottom Line

I love writing. Writing is a key part of my identity. I hope to get published one day, but, even if I don’t, I will continue writing for the rest of my life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

About Alex

Alex (he/him) is an activist, artist, and sci-fi and fantasy writer in the United States. In addition to writing and activism, he loves to draw, read, travel, and watch movies.

He is a geek and a nerd and hopes to make a difference in life.

He can be found on Twitter

 

This post was written by a guest writer.  Please check out their details above.

Happy writing

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