Everyone
has a story
to tell
(it’s simply a matter of how to tell it well)
Part 1
When I was fifteen, my English teacher asked the
class to write a horror story. I wasn’t too bent on
blood, guts, or gore. So I chose to write something
that would actually scare me—being forced to kill one
parent to protect another.
The story, written in first person, frightened teachers
and faculty alike. Concerned for my well-being, they
called my mother up to school and had a conference
about it, only to find out that the story was truly a work
of fiction. My mother, who is a national bestselling
author, read the work and said, “Son, you’ve got
talent. You should make this into a full novel.” She
also said, “If you devote a year to writing it, trust me,
it will change your life.” Boy, was she right!
All it took was that assignment to give me a direction
for a novel. I knew the short story was perfect for the
beginning of my book, but what would I do to fill out
the rest of those pages?
My mother had kept a journal when she was pregnant
with me and continued writing in it until I was six
years old. When I could write legibly enough, she
turned that journal over to me, and I started writing
22 | NKLC Magazine
about my life. Of course, a six-year-old didn’t have
much excitement to write about except Legos, board
games, and birthdays. But later, when my aunt came
to Chicago to escape an abusive husband and we had
to live in semi-hiding for seven years, trust me, I had
plenty of “exciting” material.
So, I figured why not use all of it in my story? Use
some things from my journal and incorporate my
real life experiences, like what it was like to have
to change everything—school, homes, friends—to
protect someone we loved. My story became a blend
of a personal account and fiction with a twist.
That was well and fine, but I needed something that
would keep people turning the pages. As I read other
books with fictitious characters, the way they were
described and the challenges they faced brought them
to life and made them realistic and believable. That’s
what I needed to do! There was one problem though—
beyond those seven pages of class assignment and the
journal, I didn’t know where to start. Then my mother
made the best suggestion in the world. She told me to
write the ending. It may change, she said, but knowing
where the story ends can give you some insight into