The lone writer sits at his desk furiously scribbling with no time to lose.
Thoughts stream into his head and he races to jot them down before they disappear into his subconscious, not to be disturbed again until days or even weeks later when a casual conversation sparks them back to life, allowing him to continue his creative process.
Ridge Dale, 24, creative writing major, discovered his passion for writing when he was 16 years old and now that he has 8 years of experience, he is finally comfortable with allowing people to read some of his work, he said.
“I’m still finding my foot hold in writing,” Dale said. “This is still the very early days of my craft.”
Dale said he believes that some of the greatest writers are people who have a variety of life experiences.
“You have to go through things in life and have certain experience and exposure to the world,” Dale said.
As a child, Dale’s experience consisted of living what he considered to be a double life due to the separation of his parents, he said.
After the separation, Dale stayed with his father on a ranch near Redding, Calif., part of the time and with his mother near the beach in Los Angeles for the other part.
He said that he noticed differences in his writing based on his location and environment.
“When it comes from my father’s perspective, I write very much more western,” Dale said. “On my mother’s side, it’s more of a modern interpretation of life in Los Angeles,” he added.
Instead of finding inspiration in nature or romance, Dale’s “inspiration comes from all different sources,” he said.
“It could be someone just saying a word or having a discussion on a concept,” Dale said.
While Dale was going through a period of analyzing simple conversations, he began reading older literature and came to admire authors from past generations such as Ernest Hemingway.
Dale said he appreciated how Hemingway “doesn’t waste any words.”
Dale said he would like to continue to evolve as a writer and aspires to become a published author.
He has already been accepted to Arizona State University (ASU) and will be transferring in spring of 2013
“I chose (ASU) because it is number twenty in the nation for its master of fine arts program and poetry,” he said.
Dale said he plans on exploring several of the fields that his major has to offer and would like to pursue public speaking as well.
He said he would also be honored to someday work as an instructor at EC.
“I think he would be more successful as a poet, but I could see him teaching at a college level,” Dale’s classmate Tiara Brown, 22, English major, said.
Even during classroom discussion, others view him as a poetic and deep speaker.
“He has insightful responses to texts (and) seems to be very personable and engaged,” Adrienne Sharp, English professor, said.
Dale said that with the help of professors and by studying other writers, his writing skills and confidence have grown stronger and he expects that his work will represent him well.
“I want to put myself against the best,” Dale said. “I feel as if I want a certain type of competition, as strong as possible,” he added.