@01d5c050 
I started reading SF as a Tween. Before that it was science and more science. It wasn't until I was 17 that I started toying with the idea of writing something. When I'd studied maniacally for what I presumed would be a difficult for me AP analytical geometry final, and it turned out to be open book, I overflowed with creativity. I spent a two week Christmas vacation and wrote my first 25,000 word novella. That lead to five angst filled years until I sold. Except for a 14 year long burn-out in 2001, I've been writing and demonstrating my neuroses publicly since.