One evening, I was eating dinner in a fancy restaurant with my mom, Mormor, Uncle Ken, and Aunt Renee. We were asking each other questions like: “Where is the one place in the world that you would like to go?” Then Aunt Renee asked, “What animal would you like to be if you were one?” I replied by saying that I would be a tiger. I said that just because “Tiger” sounded a little like my name. After dinner, I began to write reasons why I chose the tiger.

This was the only “free” chapter that I shared with hundreds of people. I shared my reasons for choosing a tiger with my writing class, my family, and my friends. I started out the story by saying, “Hey, kids! It’s your old pal and friend. Do you have a favorite animal? I have a favorite animal too. It is the tiger. Here in this group of words, I will tell you why I like the tiger and compare my reasons why I like the tiger to real life events.” Then I read the...