I’ve always been secretly awed by fiction writers.

It’s not that I’ve never received my fair share of praise for my writing; more than a few people have commended me on my flair for the written word. It’s just that I’ve always believed that writing non-fiction is clinical — sort of a technical ability rather than a creative streak. Nearly any human being with enough smarts can put together an informative article. It won’t be perfect or excellent, but it’ll work somehow in some instances. When you force any other person to write a short story, though, you might as well ask for trouble outright.

It takes a lot of creativity — something no one can ever, ever pick up through a class or two — and writing stories, novels and even poems isn’t something just anyone off the street can do.

That’s precisely the reason why I’ve never even attempted to write a poem. It’s just not me, I always reason, and I can never imagine myself as someone so creative and moving. I can never be a Murakami, or a Puzo, or some other successful fiction writer.

And you can never really force yourself to write a beautiful short story unless you’re inspired. Sure, I need inspiration (more like diligence) to write even content articles, but it’s not the same. You can somehow string together data in a coherent and slightly interesting manner, but you can’t do the same thing to create a short story. Forcing creativity can be quite frustrating.

This long-winded mental release is actually due to the fact that I’ve been somehow inspired by most writing blogs I’ve seen. A lot of them are more focused on writing fiction, which is a major frustration of mine. I decided to add a page, then, that’ll showcase my “installments” on a short novel I’m trying to write. The first two chapters were written years ago and shelved because I lost the nerve. It just didn’t feel right to continue.

That said, I need to know what you think. It’s a bit cheesy, I think, but I think I need professional opinion. Take a look and let me know. If this goes well, I’ll be adding the next installments in the following weeks. That’s a big IF, because I’m still not confident of my fiction-writing skills. It’s fun, though, so there it is. Fingers crossed now.

XOXO,