Why I'm Chasing Dreams of Becoming a Famous Writer in My 20s (2024)

I want to become a famous writer yet for some reason I rarely share my writing with others. I’m sure there are many reasons why I keep my writing to myself — embarrassment, a lack of people to share my writing with and get critiques from, and that dreaded perfectionism that prevents most people with creative passions from making any sort of progress.

Ever since I could remember, I wanted to publish books, stories of my own. When I was in middle school, I was inspired by authors like Rick Riordan, Anthony Horowitz, Darren Shan, and many others that I probably don’t remember. I grew up reading a lot, surrounding myself with books, and often going to the library to check out a new novel. I loved the amazing, lore-filled worlds that people could conjure up in their heads simply by translating their thoughts onto paper.

I believe it was in fifth grade when my creativity and eagerness to write stories blossomed. One day in class, our teacher had a writing exercise where we would create stories based on photos. The apparent lore behind the photos—or lack thereof—ignited a creative spark, and my brain has been obsessed with storytelling ever since then.

At the time, I didn’t think I wanted to be a famous author. Even now, I still hold similar sentiments. Sure, it would be great to make a living off my passion, but I want to be affluent in the sense that people know me. I want to incite others to create their own art, to write pieces that provoke wonder and make people feel in their soul. I want that person reading to pick up a pencil and write their first book, to create brilliant worlds, to craft a magic system derived from something unique like their favorite plants. I truly adore the unlimited potential of human creativity and take pride whenever I read something and think, “Wow, you created that?” For me, it’s less about making money and more about making others want to pursue their passions, to express their potential. My passion fills my soul, anything else is an added extra.

I didn’t read as much in high school, but I definitely read a hell of a lot more compared to my college years. I do think I spent more time writing as I got older, as that thirst to share my writing grew. For a while, I hardly shared my work with others, but I slowly caught on that in order to become a better writer, I needed to get out of my comfort zone. Yes, that meant sharing my work with people that had separate opinions than my own. Yes, that meant I had to embarrass myself.

I ended up joining an online writing group that I interacted with for a bit before deciding to leave. I think I eased rather quickly into the concept of sharing my work to improve. The issue was finding other passionate people to consistently share my writing with. With the disbanding of the online group, I was back to square one, and I was out of ideas of whom to get feedback from. I ended up sharing with a non-writing friend, but that didn’t end up well. That being said, he wasn’t the type to read, so that was my fault. Fortunately, I had the luxury of English teachers and professors that heavily carried my growth over the years. I also feel like I was lucky enough to have a decent, somewhat unbiased idea of my writing skills.

During COVID (I am so sorry for mentioning it), the local community college I attended had a student start up a new writing club. As soon as I heard about it, I immediately joined. The first semester kind of sucked due to it being online, but I guess everything sucked at the time. The meetings were conducted without cameras, which I understand people were fatigued, but it felt so dull and fake to attend meetings this way. I was able to obtain great feedback, but not being able to gauge my work by seeing people’s facial reactions or hearing vocal agreements stunted my growth in some regard. As restrictions eased, we were fortunately able to transition into in-person meetings that felt more personal.

The pandemic disconnected me from the human side of writing; I slowly normalized that the expressionless names on my screen were nothing more than just that. Being able to see people once again and socializing with others reminded me that there was a person behind the other side of the computer screen; the people in front of me had unique lives with individual goals, wants, and needs. With this reminder, the passion in my writing reignited, and it was refreshing to have the words I typed out be more considerate of my readers.

I believe the environment you put yourself in plays a large role in your growth, whether that be a skill or overall character. There is a lot to be developed, and it only helps to be surrounded by those just as passionate and better than you. I don’t think I would have progressed as much as I did, and as quickly as I did, if it were not for the people I met at this club over the years.

I ended up transferring to a nearby university which didn’t have a writing club, so I still tried to attend my previous college’s club meetings. It was a bit difficult to consistently attend due to my schedule, and now with my job hunt and future mandatory workforce service, that only seems increasingly so. I also recently graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science, and it only feels right to move on as I take another step into adulthood. I do still want to keep in contact with my fellow writers, but I’m a bit concerned (and excited) with how life throws you from one journey to the next.

I created Belmont Box after being discouraged from my post-graduation job hunt. Rejection after rejection didn’t make me feel good at all, and I also had a lot of time on my hands. So I stepped back a bit, acknowledged my roots, remembered what I care about and what I want to do in my life. I don’t want to solely focus on my career. I also want to spend time on my passions, spend time with good friends, meet new people, and grow along the way. I don’t want to be someone that is unsatisfied with life because I ended up not taking risks.

I want to take that risk. I want to embarrass myself. I want to be vulnerable and share my creativity with the world. Belmont Box acts as a portrayal of what I desire in life, and that is to be unapologetically myself. Step by step, I invigorate the roots that make me who I am. I am a writer and I want to share that with the world.

If you could not already tell, I am a person that strives for growth, reflects upon and appreciates life, likes to get out of his comfort zone, and enjoys sharing and expressing his creativity. My writing will be related to those things in some way or another. And, since you read this far, all of these things are probably right up your alley. I plan on posting poems, fiction short stories, reflections, blogs, whatever comes to mind. I just want to write. I’m not sure about the schedule or how often I’ll post, but I’ll figure it out by starting. I do think that I’m currently in a poetic fiend, so do expect that. But whatever comes to mind, I’ll write. I just want to spend time on my passion. I want to take that risk.

This is Belmont Box, and here is me opening it.