It feels very weird to be taking over this section and even more so to be talking about my book that I self-published a few weeks ago. 

Writing has been an integral part of my life for a very long time, but one that I’ve kept mostly private. So, naturally, for most people, this book came as a total surprise (I won’t lie, seeing you guys reaction was the funniest thing). 

• Since I was a child, putting ideas onto paper was a way of making sense of the world around and inside me. I’d write short stories (most left unfinished) to explore my feelings or to hold on to moments that I thought were meaningful. My writings were never intended to be published, they were merely a hobby.

It all changed when I began crafting this novel. I was 16, trying to cope with living by myself in a new city and this novel was born as a way to escape into a different reality. But, this story was unlike my other ones, it had more depth, it touched on some universal emotions and had (at least, in my opinion) some valuable ideas. Hence, I decided that I wanted other people to read it.

And that’s when a fun pastime turned into a chore. When writing for myself, for my own pleasure, I can simply gloss over information, have the plot be unclear, and never finish a chapter. After all, I’m the only one who’s going to read it. However, when you write for others, all changes.

That was my approach, writing as much as I could to perfect this skill. Mentally, it takes a toll on you. It took me years to find my voice as a writer, one that both feels like myself but that can also be enjoyed by others. This exercise led to a lot of self-reflection, trial and error and over 1,500 pages of drafts.

And then, I began the editing and revision processes, which are very time-consuming tasks. I reread this book so many times to make sure all was neat, that at some point I thought to myself: 

Despite these complaints, I kept writing, not only because I believed in this story, but because in the end this work brought me so much gratification. It taught me so much about the world around and, especially, inside me. And now that’s done, it fills me with joy to see it come to life and be enjoyed by other people, who can now make it theirs. 

So, if you have an idea, a project, but you’re stuck trying to figure out the best way to do it, just start doing it, gradually, step by step, you’ll find your voice and be able to finish it.

With love,

Enzo.