It was one of those things that just happens. For years I had scoured (well, maybe not scoured, but rather occasionally perused) the business world for a different sort of entreprenuerial enterprise. I looked at vending machines, financial brokerage services, insurance sales, and various business services. I even fancied trying to take my current small business to the next level, franchising, but the costs of building a business system and then becoming a "captain of industry" just seemed mind-boggling ... not to mention, well, costly.
Then the wife, frustrated by having to listen to my frustrations, told me to knock it off and get back to my writing. I guess she was tired of seeing me expend my creative energies on trying to come up with just the right "hook" or the right "angle" to jumpstart another, totally separate business or to take the little tiger (the current business we own) and grab it by the tail, make it mad (in a metaphorical sense, of course), and then turn it into a tiger that would be difficult, if not impossible, to tame.
Writing, huh? She's a genius! Actually, all the frustrations I exhibited were part of my evil plan to get her to insist that I give up my foolish notions regarding unknown and risky business enterprises for the even more foolish notion of getting back into the passion of my life and the one single constant pastime I have had since I was a child -- writing. For the record, I am a dabbler when it comes to pastimes -- you should see the collection of golf clubs, amateur astronomy telescopes and books, martial arts weapons and gear, books on origami, art supplies, fishing gear ... need I say more? But writing? Now, there we go!
I started on that hobby when I was a wee lad and it came about when the movie "Star Wars" fell in conjunction with my exposure to the various Tolkien books. This conjunction of sci-fi movies and fantasy novels inspired me; all those lasers, spaceships, dragons, elves, and as I got a little older ... hot alien princesses. Ah, yes, many a summer night I spent as a boy in my isolated, little midwestern farm town writing stories about far away places, until one day, I finally grew up.
But then even still, throughout my years in military service, college, a couple of bad relationships, and my near total immersion in a small business, I still wrote stories and poetry, and a couple of novel-length manuscripts that never made it to the bookstore. Writing was always there in my mind, even when I wasn't writing. In fact, eventually, I managed to get good enough at it that a couple of short stories made it into print, and a handful of poems as well. Didn't get paid much for the publications, but I was thrilled, nonetheless, to make it out of the category of "wannabe" to "been there, done that."
Then a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. Life changed for me shortly after getting a few things published. I got a divorce from the previous wife, had to start up a business so I could eat, and then met the current wife (the genius), and this all caused me to put the budding writing career on hold ... for about five years. And then last fall the genius sent me off on my merry way to the laptop to begin writing again. I even joined up with my old critique group (a very talented collection of local writers, all published in their own right), and now I spend my free time writing.
You want to know what I discovered? Well, I'll tell you anyway. I learned that although I may be a "has been that never was", at least I still got it. It's just like riding a bike. Once you learn, you can't unlearn. I finished the unfinished draft of a novel that had been sitting right where I left it five years ago, wrote a couple of decent poems, and in the middle of all that I even managed to scribble out a half-dozen new short stories. And at the risk of sounding like a braggard, I will daresay all of it actually came out pretty good (well, maybe not all, but most).
Which brings me around to this introductory blog. It's kind of a full circle sort of thing. I love writing, and I love talking about it, and I love doing it, and I love sharing it. Not sure where all this will lead, but it is my intention to share a bit about writing, perhaps give some pointers, maybe even do a few book reviews (if I ever find the time), and try to share some insight about the writing world, particularly when it comes to science fiction and fantasy. Heck, I might even actually make a business out of writing! Why not? Clancy and King can't make all the royalties, can they?
I will admit, though, I am not an expert in blogs, nor in writing (God knows I remain forever imperfect and always working at it), or in science, or in giving sound advice.
But I am a good dabbler.
