Writing Contest Submission
The House That Jake Built
Why I Started Writing on Medium
What did you, dear reader, want to become growing up?
I remember receiving, as a seven-year-old, a kind of file book or album in which I could record my annual dreams, goals, strengths and areas of improvement, and other personal data such as height, weight, and missing teeth. I got the book when I was in 2nd grade, so I retroactively wrote that I wanted to become a cartoonist as a 1st grader. That changed to dreaming to become Spider-Man, a writer, and then an architect.
By the time I started 6th grade, I got tired and unfortunately rather cynical (even for a pre-teen) of that yearly ritual of stating my aspirations. In my defense, my parents either laughed in ridicule or got furious, especially about becoming a writer. Why? Anyway, I think they wanted me to become a doctor. My parents being Asian immigrants might explain that.
I am a builder.
But now, among the professions mentioned above, I am closer to being an architect. I am a builder. Hopefully, I have laid the foundation on some solid ground by now. I have also started scaffolding, hammering, and chiseling in the beams and frames based on sound design. The next step would be to look into acquiring the right materials for the inner and outer walls, roof, doors, windows, and insulation. I shouldn’t forget to install functional infrastructure such as electrical wiring, plumbing, Ethernet cables, and perhaps a fireplace.
But it is not an actual house that I’m building.
I am building my writing skills, step by step, word by word, and idea by idea. This is like taking the tools of the craft and learning to use them competently. If I don’t, I’m stuck with a house that always leaks, cracks, or crumbles easily — and a bad mortgage. The house’s structural integrity has to be solid like carefully laid bricks to withstand sudden gusts of wind by the Big Bad Wolf.
I am building my unique style of writing through experimentation, adaptation, and hybridization of different approaches to engaging an audience. Who knows? I might end up residing in a minimalist home with tatami floors, a log-house interior, and appliances reminiscent of Star Trek all within a re-purposed shipping container. My style may not be popular or win any prizes, but I’ll be happy if I’m creating honestly no matter how weird and humble my abode looks.
I am building resilience as a writer by throwing myself out into the arena and exposing myself to scrutiny, criticism, scorn, and other forms of negative feedback. For that, I need to install good insulation and multi-pane windows to block extreme conditions and conserve energy inside. This way, I can welcome constructive feedback through the front door in a controlled and intentional manner.
I am building an identity and a brand as a writer. Once that immigrant boy who felt embarrassed by his lack of English skills, I am now embracing my new identity as a writer though still a novice. Now I can proactively showcase my compositions. For that, I’ll need to fashion a banner with my logo: a smiley face with a pair of QR codes for its eyes. I’ll hoist it proudly on my front yard so that people can easily spot me and say, “Look! That’s the shack that Jake built!”
I am building a portfolio of all my writing. Now, the themes are scattered from life hacks to horror tales and odes to quasi-political opinions. There appears to be no consistency among my stories. But I feel there is common kernel among them. From that, my gut tells me a book will emerge. I’m not sure if it will happen like the Big Bang or Darwinian evolution. Either way, fragments from my stories in my portfolio will coalesce into some alien creature in the form of my first published book.
Final Thoughts
I could have talked about why I started writing as a way to recover from trauma, to start a new habit for self improvement and self care, and to become a part of an inclusive and supportive community of writers on Medium. Those still hold true today.
But as much as they are good triggers for starting and incentives for continuing, they fall short of truly explaining why I started writing and persevere to write routinely albeit not in large quantities.
My choice of house building as an analogy for my journey as a writer-in-the-making is to point to an inner desire to feel alive with a sense of purpose and to make sense of my existence.
Like building a house, writing a book is a kind of real estate. Regardless of the market value, it is a real entity that retains some inherent worth to someone, even if it might only be to the author.
To some people, a small cabin could be no different from a doghouse, but to others, it might be a castle.
To some people, my future book could be no different from an out-of-date Yellow Pages, but to others, it might become a kind of treasure map with an X that marks the spot.
Becoming Spider-Man would have been fantastic, but becoming a writer allows me to build bigger dreams.
Thanks for reading!
Please say hello in the comments. No need to follow.
I just write for connections
(^-^)/
