Congratulations to David Fernández, our next young writer spotlight! David is a fourteen-year-old writer who just published his first poetry collection, Poems of the Impossible DREAM. After participating in our Poetry Writing Camp in 2025, he felt inspired to continue crafting verses and eventually published a collection. (P.S. Our virtual writing workshops run every summer through July and August for novice and expert writers alike!)
Read on to learn more about David's writing process, upcoming work, and life as a published writer.
You shared that our poetry camp inspired you to write and publish a poetry collection! What was the number one thing that inspired you during the camp?
First of all, this camp inspired me to improve my poetry in so many different ways. I would say that the best or most inspiring part of the camp was knowing that there are many other poets like me and that I'm not alone as a poet.
How did you stay focused while writing your book? Did you set goals for yourself each day/make deadlines?
Honestly, I didn't set times where I write. I write when I get an idea or rhyme and I make it into a poem. It also helps that I listen to a lot of music and music as we all know has rhymes.
How does it feel to be a published author? Did anything positive or uplifting happen after you published your book? Share an experience!
Being a published author has its upsides and downsides. The upsides are: earning money, knowing that I've done something that many can't and don't dream of doing because they feel weird or unusual, but that's what makes me strive as a poet. The freedom of knowing that other people's opinion don't matter and that I am one of the few kids who like poetry make me feel free and special.
What is your poetry book about? What inspires your poetry?
Basically, my poetry is about love, heartbreak and some nature. Although if someone asks me to make a poem of something else such as birthdays or going away poem I do so. My poetry is normally inspired by crushes or love. After rejection or moving on from that crush I write a poem of my experience.
Are you working on any new books right now? If so, when should readers expect them to be published?
I am currently working on a Spanish poem book and I want to make a flash fiction book after the Spanish poems. If I could say when the book will be ready I would but at this moment it is unclear.
What advice do you have for other young writers who are thinking about publishing?
For all the young poets who want to publish I'd say to not care what others think. They will call you a freak, a weirdo, they will exclude you, but I promise that once you are at the top you will be looking down at them knowing you didn't stop even if they tried to break you.
You can buy David's recent poetry book, Poems of the Impossible DREAM, on Amazon! And check out our last Young Writer Spotlight with a published 17-year-old poet, Deborah, here.
About the Interviewer
Faith is a university student studying game design and film. On Write the World, they served as a Community Ambassador and was a 2025-2026 Intern. Their work has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Faith is currently working on their first full-length poetry collection. Faith’s favorite genres to write in are sci-fi, horror, and poetry, revolving around surreal themes that question the absurdity of reality.