Statement of Goals
Ever since I learned the alphabet, I've always loved to read. In Elementary School, I read Dr. Seuss and Mary Pope Osborne, E.B. White and Roald Dahl. In Middle school I read R.L. Stein and Louis Sachar, C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. And in High School I fell in love with H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. I read at lunchtime in the noisy cafeteria, I read while walking down the crowded hallways (and didn't bump into anyone, I might add), I stole a few quick pages while the teacher tried to figure out how the darn projector worked. I read on the couch while my siblings monopolized the video games and I read on vacation to avoid tedious conversations with distant family members. If I had a millisecond of time to spare, I spent it turning pages.
But when I reached the end of my twelfth year of schooling, while I perched on the ledge between High School Senior and College Freshman, there was a moment's hesitation. Rowan University offered a major in English, a course of action that everyone who knew me since I was in footie pajamas predicted that I would take. But Rowan also offered a program called "Writing Arts" which caught my interest. Did I want to continue reading other people's works for another four years, or did I want to learn to actually write my own things? And possibly have my name added to the list of authors whose great works have traveled through the ages. While walking down the aisles of Barnes & Noble, searching for another King novel to consume, I imagined my own horror novel sharing the same shelf space as my idol. After that, I knew which major I would choose.
The moment I became a Writing Arts major was the exact second that I evolved from a voracious reader to an aspiring writer. I have not lost my love of reading. In fact, my creative writing professors have assured me that this particular quirk of mine is not completely useless. All of them, in one way or another, has said, "To be a good writer you have to be a good reader." From experience, I know this is true. As an avid reader of both fantasy and horror fiction, I feel comfortable in venturing into these respective fields as a writer because I know the conventions of each genre and would only write what I myself would want to read.
My short term goals as a Writing Arts major are to learn about many genres of writing besides horror/fantasy novels. I also want motivation to write my own fiction. So far, in this goal I have been successful because of the writing assignments I’ve had to complete by a specific deadline for my college courses. My long term goals as a writer are to continue generating short fiction and to have them published. Simultaneously, I want to bring to life the ideas I have for a longer novel. After taking creative writing courses, I have confidence in how to manage my time and efforts in completing these daunting tasks, now that I am armed with helpful techniques and advice on how to effectively write and publish my stories.
Ever since I learned the alphabet, I've always loved to read. In Elementary School, I read Dr. Seuss and Mary Pope Osborne, E.B. White and Roald Dahl. In Middle school I read R.L. Stein and Louis Sachar, C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. And in High School I fell in love with H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. I read at lunchtime in the noisy cafeteria, I read while walking down the crowded hallways (and didn't bump into anyone, I might add), I stole a few quick pages while the teacher tried to figure out how the darn projector worked. I read on the couch while my siblings monopolized the video games and I read on vacation to avoid tedious conversations with distant family members. If I had a millisecond of time to spare, I spent it turning pages.
But when I reached the end of my twelfth year of schooling, while I perched on the ledge between High School Senior and College Freshman, there was a moment's hesitation. Rowan University offered a major in English, a course of action that everyone who knew me since I was in footie pajamas predicted that I would take. But Rowan also offered a program called "Writing Arts" which caught my interest. Did I want to continue reading other people's works for another four years, or did I want to learn to actually write my own things? And possibly have my name added to the list of authors whose great works have traveled through the ages. While walking down the aisles of Barnes & Noble, searching for another King novel to consume, I imagined my own horror novel sharing the same shelf space as my idol. After that, I knew which major I would choose.
The moment I became a Writing Arts major was the exact second that I evolved from a voracious reader to an aspiring writer. I have not lost my love of reading. In fact, my creative writing professors have assured me that this particular quirk of mine is not completely useless. All of them, in one way or another, has said, "To be a good writer you have to be a good reader." From experience, I know this is true. As an avid reader of both fantasy and horror fiction, I feel comfortable in venturing into these respective fields as a writer because I know the conventions of each genre and would only write what I myself would want to read.
My short term goals as a Writing Arts major are to learn about many genres of writing besides horror/fantasy novels. I also want motivation to write my own fiction. So far, in this goal I have been successful because of the writing assignments I’ve had to complete by a specific deadline for my college courses. My long term goals as a writer are to continue generating short fiction and to have them published. Simultaneously, I want to bring to life the ideas I have for a longer novel. After taking creative writing courses, I have confidence in how to manage my time and efforts in completing these daunting tasks, now that I am armed with helpful techniques and advice on how to effectively write and publish my stories.