Writing and ultimately publishing Noah’s Quest was a momentous part of my life for myriad reasons beyond the mere fact that it was my first taste of what an author’s life really is. It was also my initial dip into publishing in a strict technical sense. Here’s my story and my takeaways .

Something to remember

My journey started when I was 11, and I was required to write a fantasy story for my English class. I decided I had to write a great fantasy story. I wanted to get good marks for my school work. More importantly, writing was something I really liked to do. I was so determined not to stop until I had the utmost results. Stopping certainly was the last thing I eventually did.

Something to relish

On the day my teacher gave the task, I had an extensive smorgasbord of ideas going through my head: Magic, action and adventure . Those are the ingredients I believed I should focus on. Planning the story was definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of writing it. Writing down the thoughts in my head brought excitement, especially because I was looking forward to making a sensible and relatable narrative that would tantalise my readers’ palates.

Going with the flow

The real fun began when I started the first draft. To be honest, I was never worried about the way I wrote it; I merely allowed myself to type all the words as fast as I could on my iPad mini, not minding whether they were perfect or not. I didn’t let any second thoughts or debilitating self-depreciation mar the flavours that I was allowing to flow through the words I was writing. I didn’t bother if my grammar was right or whether readers would agree with my characters’ stand on things. I just kept adding new things to the story along the way.

Following through

Without the usual barriers that produce writer’s block, the only source of stress I had was my manuscript’s due date. I only had a few days to complete my write-up, and that didn’t seem like enough time to write everything I wanted. However, despite the lack of time to put together all my ideas, I was still able to come up with enough motivation and willpower to produce a finished product.

When it all pays off

After several sleepless nights of staying up and writing endlessly, I was able to finally submit a 6000-word narrative that later turned into a 13,500-word story. I read it aloud in class and it took the entire lesson to finish – to everyone’s surprise, or boredom (I hope not). My parents’ reaction shocked me – they wanted to publish it!

I never thought it was possible to publish, and years passed. When my youngest brother Noah was born, everyone was inspired to make the book a reality. I changed the protagonist’s name to “Noah,” and with my parents’ assistance and a lot of good people’s kindness, the book is now a reality.

The dream didn’t only turn into a mere reality; the book attained #1 International Bestseller status in Children’s Books on Values in its first month. It now has perfect reviewer ratings on Amazon, Goodreads and OnlineBookClub.org. It has been nominated as Book of the Year 2021, too. I didn’t only get a cake; I got a special one with icing, sprinkles, cherries, and all the other yummy and good-looking stuff on top.

Who says wishes can’t come true? With persistence, determination, focus, motivation, inspiration, perspiration and help where it’s needed, amongst others, they surely can. My book Noah’s Quest is a testament to that.