S. R. Godderick: A Journey to Self-Discovery
Software Developer to Aspiring Author/Blogger
Have you ever met a crazy cat person? That’s me. Cats have a certain allure about them. Clearly, the internet agrees, and I like to attribute the cat craze to their primal yet endearing nature. When a cat attempts to murder an inanimate object, isn’t it the most adorable thing? Yet, the instinct behind the action carries a not-so-innocent intent. Well, I could literally talk for hours about my fascination with cats, so we should move on for now.
I’m presently living the corporate life as a software developer (it’s a drag), and over the past few years, I have been slowly rediscovering myself. If I’m being totally honest, I never really embraced my true nature. I buried it. Self-doubt, fear, and the crushing burden placed on youth by a money-driven society didn’t allow room for following passion and creativity.
Like many young minds, I wrestled with choosing a college major. Over and over again. Eventually, after much research and deliberation, I ditched my artistic dreams and landed on a practical major–Computer Networking. Draw a dotted line from networking to programming, through required technical credits and an opportunity at my company, and here I am.
Now, most of you are probably wondering the same thing. What turns a software developer with a computer networking degree into a blogger? Well, I’m finally returning to my creative roots. A little over a year ago, I had this nagging earworm. An idea for a story that would not leave me alone. After four days, the story snowballed to a point I could no longer keep it in my head. It needed to be plotted out, so I put pen to paper…
I began researching topics and creating character profiles. Character backgrounds started taking shape, and the story continued to grow. Fast forward to present-day, and I have over 30,000 words written for the first draft of my book!
Just to clarify–I am a total writing newb. I never thought to pursue a writing interest before. I was always drawn to music, puzzles, and arts & crafts, but avoided the written word for some reason (probably because the tedium of correcting my sentence structure and grammar every other word was exhausting – perfectionism at its finest). However, the more I explore my creative writing journey, the more I appreciate the process and want to continue learning. It has been my most favorite creative outlet thus far and has renewed my desire to be the creative person that I am.
After attending The Minnesota Writing Workshop with a friend of mine, I learned I should establish a habit to practice my writing more often, but any new routines I pick up notoriously end up finding their way into a blackhole, never to be seen or heard from again. So, I needed a commitment to keep me going (a blog!), and a couple friends to provide support. Thus, The Literary Canvas was born! The site will serve as a platform to practice my writing and help me stay accountable. Most importantly, the biggest goal is to connect like-minded humans (maybe even some cats) and build a support network for creatives. Let’s help each other create cool stuff!
As my book progresses, I also want to share my experiences and provide updates, and I hope at least some of you will be interested in reading it once it’s published. Thank you for your time, and I’ll keep you posted!