How I got started

there's a lot of structure here that i really like. it's subtle, but that's something i appreciate, like the "I still suck at endings" that you close with. that made me laugh out loud. or when you opened the paragraph with "Math was my subject" and closed it with "We got them done and they netted us ten points." in the 7th grade it's all about quantification - what do i have to do to get by - and you make this point without clobbering us over the head with it. this subtle structure makes your writing internally consistent and that's something i really respect.

this could be sharper with a bit more editing. cleaning up the subject-verb issues and the singular/plurals would polish it. also, once you get to "Okay, I was a horrible student. Sue me. Now why does this make the step off point to me becoming a writer?" i think you wrap up a little fast. these last couple of paragraphs don't have quite the same sly wit as the majority of the piece and they don't have as many details either.

i'm right there with you - math was my subject ;) i'm also a big fan of creative non-fiction. with a bit more editing, i think you really have something here. but then, as you point out, you're writing for yourself and editing for consumption isn't high on your list of objectives. so, i'd have to say, thanks for posting this one for us to consume. i really liked it.

It was casual and at no point did you romanticize or exaggerate your experiences. I liked that.

it read more like a forum post than an article. I came in expecting a story explaining what sparked your writing but instead it was just a quick overview.

I think you focused too much on the overall school experience than on your first attempts at writing short stories. I really didn't learn enough about that..

The voice was awesome. This was a true story and I felt you were telling it practically to my face. You were very honest, and the humor was genuine.

Since this was a small autobiography, I can see how many would find this uninteresting as some people may just not care. The story was a little shallow, you didn't take a chance to dive into your life deeply enough. The story seems to rush by faster and faster as it goes along, like a downhill snowball picking up speed, causing the ending to be lacking(which you even admitted!). There were a few problems with mechanics, but it didn't take anything away from the quality

There's a sizable list of things I didn't care for in this article, but in the end I think you're voice and story telling saved the day. I enjoyed it as it was interesting to understand you better as a writer. In the future, I'd focus on everything I listed in the cons so your next article will pack some more punch.