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Home » I Met Nicolas Dunn, My Creative Writing Teacher, and Here’s What Happened

I Met Nicolas Dunn, My Creative Writing Teacher, and Here’s What Happened

I have been a fan of Nicolas Dunn’s work for a while, so when I saw him speak at Literary Los Angeles, an annual festival of the literary arts, I knew I had to meet him. After the talk, I ran up to him and asked if I could buy him a drink. He said yes, and we spent the next hour or so chatting about books and ideas. When the festival was over, I grabbed my friend Holly and we walked towards our car. As we were talking, I noticed that people were looking at us and pointing. Curious, I turned around and yelled “Hey! Books!” and held up my phone so they would know what I was talking about. Suddenly, a woman came up to me and said she worked for Nicolas Dunn and was very grateful for what I did. As she was thanking me, I realized she was a PR person for him. I later found out that this is a common occurrence at this type of event. People come up to you once you’re already in your car, asking for your contact information so they can follow up. It was then that I really got to know this wonderful man.

He Is A True Original

Before I continue, I must state that I don’t want to take away from the amazing work that the established writers and poets do. It is an absolute honor to be compared to such talented individuals. However, I feel that there is a void in the market that needs to be filled by the “average” person, which is why I am always so motivated to write. To me, it is about having a voice and being able to share my stories with the world. To write creatively is a gift and there are so many wonderful stories to tell. The problem is, as a busy person, how are you going to find the time to write the story, as well as polish it enough to present it in a way that it can be appreciated by others?

Nicolas Dunn is the man who is going to solve this problem. Without him, I would still be asking myself this question. Without further ado, here is my story:

My Creative Writing Teacher

For the past four years, I have been going to school full time and working part time as a pharmacy technician. I started writing my Master’s thesis in the 7th grade, and ever since then, I have not stopped writing. As mentioned above, I believe there is a void in the market that needs to be filled by the “average” person, which is why I always reach out to writing teachers for assistance. Luckily for me, I found Mr. Dunn via Twitter. One day, I tweeted about how much I needed help with my creative writing, and he responded with a link to his blog. On his blog, you will find plenty of articles on creative writing, but what really drew my attention was one article in particular: “How to Become a Better Writer.”

In this article, he states that everyone can be a better writer, which means anyone can write. There is no degree or talent required. All you need is a desire to write and the ability to sit down and do so. This blog post really resonated with me because it gave me hope that my writing is not bad and can definitely be improved upon. I responded to Mr. Dunn as follows:

@MrDunnToWriTes I really need help with my creative writing. Can you please give me some tips?

Almost instantly, I received a response from Mr. Dunn, which I promptly shared with my friends. A few days later, I got a message from him, asking me to send him some words for inclusion in a Creative Writing notebook he was making. At that point, I had absolutely no idea what a Creative Writing notebook was, or that it was something special. At first, I was a little hesitant to send him my words, because I thought it was going to be an easy “thank you” for helping me with my creative writing. As I began to write, I soon found out that this was far from being the case. While I was not asking him to teach me how to write, he was teaching me the ropes, one lesson at a time. At first, I thought it was going to be boring and repetitive, but then I decided to look at it as a chance to learn.

The Evolution Of A Writer: From Student To Teacher

Looking back, I can see that this was an important period in my life, not just because I was learning so much from Mr. Dunn, but because I was growing as a person. I was starting to question the things I had previously believed to be true, and Mr. Dunn helped me find the answers. One of the major revelations was that I truly did not need to be part of the “elite” group of writers. In fact, I could totally make my own group of writers and have them appreciate my stories. This is one of the things Mr. Dunn taught me: you do not need to be part of a club or group to be considered a writer. While it is a great feeling to belong to a group, you do not have to. This was a major turning point for me, because it showed me that I had the power to change the world with my words.

Bringing My Writing To Life

Now that I had a mentor, I could finally bring my writing to life. I started by simply picking up a notebook and a pen, and I would write down all of Mr. Dunn’s instructions. As I got more experienced, I began to write down all of his nuggets of advice, as well as the things I learned from my own experience. Every time I write down a new idea or concept, I feel like a new writer born. Even when I repeat myself, I still consider myself to be a writer, because as Mr. Dunn says, “everything you need to write is inside you.”

There is no manual or formula for creativity, which is why every single piece of writing is different from the next. This is what makes writing such a wonderful and inspiring craft. It is an art that cannot be taught, only continued.

To end this article, I would like to leave you with a quote from Mr. Dunn that I think every writer should keep in mind:

“Find something that you are passionate about. Then, find the words to express that passion. Don’t worry about whether or not what you have to say is going to be ‘commercial’ or ‘popular.’ Just find the voice that is inside you and let it speak. You will never know what kind of impact you may have on someone, simply by sharing your own story. Even the most successful writers find this challenging, because they are always looking for that next best thing. It is, however, what keeps us writing, year after year.”