If they don’t make a living by writing, sometimes writers still need a way to express their creative thinking. Adam Drent has found his niche.

The 2001 Wawasee High School graduate, who grew up in North Webster and is the son of Myron and Krista Drent, regularly posts short stories he writes covering a wide range of topics on his website, www.hugepop.com. He launched the site, being careful to give credit to fellow Wawasee graduate Aaron Eikenberry, for designing it, in September 2009. Since then he has posted 129 writings and they are known as “Bedtime Stories.”

While in high school, Drent was the editor of the school newspaper. A National Merit Scholar, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English from Cedarville University and a master’s degree in fine arts fiction writing from Columbia College in Chicago.

With a master’s degree in fiction writing, he at least wanted to continue to write, even if not making a living at it (he works for Trader Joe’s grocery store). “I figured I would be more productive at it with self-imposed deadlines,” he said, so thus the website.

At first, he had friends who he thought would enjoy his writing, though they were not regular readers. So he recorded himself reading and those files were downloaded into MP3 files and sent to friends by email. Files can still be downloaded to listen to.

Visit Drent’s online site and you will find a broad range of topics covered. Everything from funny to strange and in between. Many of the writings are centered on the fictional town of Multioak, actually based on his hometown of North Webster.

The most recent posting was a Halloween special about a boy and girl duo who, through the years, made increasingly elaborate haunted houses.

After more than three years of writing and posting on the website, Drent has clearly found a way to express himself. “It is a creative outlet for me,” he said. “Right now, it’s more of a hobby,” though a few have generously donated money through the site.

He is accessible through email ([email protected]), Facebook and Twitter and offers an email list readers can sign up for. There is also an app that can be downloaded to smartphones or iPads by searching for “bedtime stories” in iTunes or the Apple store.

Drent has also recorded music albums via a computer under the name “The Mispronouncer” and does a podcast called “One Man’s World” with Eikenberry. Drent now lives in Lincoln, Neb.