Writing

“I Create, Therefore I Write”

It is just as correct to say “I Write, Therefore I Create”.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been telling stories to myself, among reading stories other people told. The first stories I remember reading were some of the oldest stories, the Greco-Roman myths. (“Mythology” by Edith Hamilton, which was my older brother’s college textbook. I was about 8 or 9 at the time.) Comic books were in there, too, somewhere, the early Silver age titles and some of the pre-Silver age black&white horror magazines that were banished from the regular comics publishers in the aftermath of the Congressional hearings. After a brief foray in mysteries, I discovered science fiction and fantasy and they became (and still are) the primary focus of my reading interest.

Telling stories to myself graduated into cooperatively telling stories with others (and for others, too) when I discovered roleplaying games in the mid-1970’s. I wound up being the (first and primary) story teller and game master for a local gaming group, something that most definitely encouraged my plotting and story creation skills. Through roleplaying, I gained the urge to write the stories that I was telling myself about the characters I was creating or reading about or watching. (That includes fan fiction.)

That led to taking the leap and submitting my writing to professional markets, and I actually sold a couple of pieces, including two to Marion Zimmer Bradley for Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine. That was some time ago but I am resuming that now.

Moreover, I am fascinated by the process and the mechanics of writing. (I am by inclination an engineer.) I still remember and practice diagramming sentences (in my head.) I obsess over finding just the right words and phrasing for whatever I write. I also automatically check for proper grammar and spelling whenever I read something.

When I created this website, I went back to my archives and pulled up just about everything I ever wrote and listed it here, which is listed on the left.

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