I am a Christian. I am a writer. I am a poet. Yes, the name Stefooch is a twist on a mix of my name and my surname. (This online name hearkens back to when I joined a chess website, but that's a story for another day) Not much more needs be said about me, but I feel compelled to say more.
I love stories. I love poetry. Sometimes I will hide stories in poems. Sometimes these poems become short stories and one of them is a novel in progress. Poetry is practice and a therapy for myself. In many ways it is there where I describe scenes in ways where I dare not in prose, but it serves it purpose. It tickles the writer in me. I often ask people if they ever wanted to write a fiction novel and nine out of ten times I get an affirmative response. This does not surprise me as we fill our minds and dreams with stories. The reason most people don't finish a novel or even a short story is because they usually can't see or work towards an end. Am I saying I have the answer to writers block or that those who know an ending are better? No, not quite, but there are ways ways to finish stories. Even though I will sometimes share my thoughts on techniques in writing, I am in no way a writing guru. I am of the opinion that too much writerly advice keeps writers back from reaching their potential.

I have been writing stories ever since I was eight years old. I remember in grade two being instructed to write a sentence about an apple, I wrote some abduction story. It was in school that I soon figured out that I was an introvert. Even though, not shy at all, I was not fond of big crowds. I liked to observe people. Daydreams were part of my everyday life. As the years passed by, I started writing poetry seldom. I am a competitive person. I cried when I lost even when losing meant second place. I was also academically driven, more through fear of becoming homeless one day than being the best although I did like the reward ceremonies especially if I did well in maths. I fell in love with the idea of being the best. However, being lazy and sloppy usually meant first place in academics was out of my reach. During grade ten my ranking in math and science was nowhere near the best anymore. I did well, but the prestige was gone. Sometimes I didn't care. I wasn't as driven as before, but it did make me sad. If I am not clever and have no friends, what am I to do? Being average or even above average was terrible for me. I, remembered however that I had always had a knack for telling stories. That year, I started working extra hard to become the best in my English essays. I was tired of being second. Alas, when the results came back. I was second sometimes and even third. I was broken. I had few friends and no close friends. That day, walking out of that class we came to some life orientation class. The teacher was an idealist and spoke of the ten thousand hour rules and amazing success stories of people who practiced certain arts and skills. I however felt empty and bored. I knew he was trying to inspire my class of "geniuses" and in a way he inspired me. His voice faded into the background as I took my exam block and started to write a story. Within a few minutes I had three hundred words and I could see where the story was headed. My mind was focusing and the more I wrote the less I cared about being the best. I wanted to tell a story. When I showed it to my brother at home, he liked the first chapter and told me to keep going. He is also a writer. I finished that story and edited it for more than a year. I am almost confidant enough in it to set it free.

So here I am, doing my best to connect with other writers and readers.