I know this may be a super cheesy answer, but someone who has greatly influenced my writing is my dad. He claims to be a bad writer, and sure in a technical sense, he doesn’t have a degree that allows him to know exactly where to put a comma or know all the rules of grammar, but he is something that many people are not, a storyteller.

It’s quite annoying how good of a storyteller he is, especially when he’s telling it verbally because he can pass off a story that is 100% false as real. I’m able to catch on to when he’s making up a story at this point, but most people can’t. When he writes stories, ones we know are supposed to be stories; they are always clever and witty. His humor shines through them, and they are very enjoyable to read.

He has such a creative mind, and he has passed that on to me. He would play with me all the time, and he really went above and beyond. We had running storylines going throughout our play sessions, and my stuffed animals each had a part to play. He voiced them all differently, and they had their own personalities. I find that I can’t get rid of any of them now because they were so real to me for all those years.

And while all of this may not be strictly writing-related, growing up with him as my father significantly shaped who I am as a writer today. These times we played together, fostered creativity in me that I still carry with me. Building these stories together ( that were pretty elaborate, looking back) taught me a lot about building a story, from tension, and plot progression to dialogue.

While some of my creativity may be a God-given gift, I think I can attribute a lot of it to having such a creative father that was willing to take so much time to play with me. I hope when I have kids someday, that I am able to give them the same experience. I want to do my best to create a similar environment for them that allows their creativity to grow and shine, just as mine was able to.