Those awkward first attempts did not stop him pursuing his dream of becoming a published author.
Twenty years later he is working on the third draft of his debut novel.
He is one step closer to completing it with the help of a $10,000 ArtStart grant.
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READ NOWThe money will give the Joondanna resident access to published authors for a paid mentorship.
"I was an odd child, I started reading at three years old and by seven years I was reading a lot and always writing stories," he said.
"My parents have kept some stories and I have kept some and a few of them are cringe-worthy, but others I think are pretty good for the age I wrote them."
The Edith Cowan University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree is one of five WA recipients of the grant.
"This is a big ticket item for my career," Mr Guagliardo said.
"It will give me access to authors through the Australian Society of Authors for X amount of hours so they can critique my draft."
He described his novel as a young adult fantasy set in Western Australia with a male protagonist.
His first published story A Man began as a class assignment in his second year and was later published in the acclaimed literary journal, Indigo.