About

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I’m just a guy pretending to be a writer. Sometimes convincingly. Mostly not.

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A Link to My Fiction

Soooooo you want to know about me? I work as a computer programmer during the day. In my spare time I play hockey in the winter and softball in the summer. I also love to read. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are favorites at the moment.

I don’t have any formal writing training other than the required Creative Writing class in college. I have picked up fiction writing as a hobby and hope to someday finish a novel. I would like to someday be published and get paid for it, just like pretty much every other writer on the web. I call myself The Struggling Writer because I have a bit of a procrastination problem. Welcome to my blog.

View this post to read about why i write.

I wrote a series of posts in response to questions from readers about myself.  Here are the links to those:

33 thoughts on “About”

  1. SW,

    Yes, it’s nice to know that people are reading your work, which is why I like the blog. The writing itself can be so gratifying that publication sometimes seems superfluous, or as Robert Boswell the novelist once described it to me, “a necessary evil”.

    I just read a good quote in Poets and Writers by Ha Jin (“Waiting”). He said a teacher of his once told him, As long as a book is good, it will be published, if not by a trade publisher, then by a small press. Jin thought of this whenever discouraged, and also said, “..a book has its own life, its own power, and all I need to do is believe in the story.” I like this because it returns the anxious writer (me) to his or his work which should be the focus.

    I also attended a great panel discussion on publication with a bunch of editors and agents, and they all agreed that the biggest problem with the work they see is that it is not as good as it could be, that it has been submitted too soon.

    kg

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  6. Hi Struggling Writer and readers – wanted to let you know about a little contest we are having:

    Rusty Axe Games is sponsoring the “Pump up the Purse” writing contest.

    Don’t worry; It’s free to enter and you retain all rights to your work, although contestants who progress in the contest will have some of their work serially presented on our website.

    Here’s how the “Pump up the Purse” system works:

    The base pot of $200 USD grows by $2 for every story added to the contest until we either hit 150 stories or April 30th, 2007, for a maximum purse of $500. We are looking for fiction in the 17,000 to 40,000 word range. Any genre is acceptable, although entries featuring gratuitious violence or sex may be disqualified at the juge’s discretion. More details at http://www.RustyAxe.com/writing_contest.php

    Reply

  9. SW,

    Nothing shy of a great piece to read; moreover, I enjoyed it because it brings back so many of the little memories we often forget. Remarkably what really caught my eye and heart is the notion of how one feels the first time they see their script in print and published.

    Additionally, I loved the bit about the proverbial Creative Writing course one negotiates whilst navigating every conceivable matter as a freshman in college. I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment by having to take the course so early in one’s youngest period during the collegiate experience. Now I believe I have heard this assessment from everyone. It seems when we are seniors there is so much more to write about!

    Finally, there is just an extra something when we read prose from those who love it and are constantly striving to be better. Well done indeed and good form. With compliments,

    Onemorecup

    Reply

  15. Well kid,

    You ought to be like my own son. You seem a hell of a lot nicer than my own damn kids. Hell, if I wasn’t well off, those ungrateful brats would probably lock me in a home!

    ~Madge or Granny, whatever you prefer!

    Reply

  16. Truman Capote said: “You can’t teach someone to be a writer. You’re either born with it or you’re not.”

    I think it’s safe to state that you have the gift. We all procrastinate, but we still keep writing. 🙂 Nice blog, I’ll be back and I’ll put you on my blog roll.

    Reply

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  23. Thanks very much for the follow – much appreciated! I’d have written the book on procrastination, except I keep putting it off… Good luck with your writing by the way. I know how hard it can be especially when you’ve got and job and kids and everything else that’s going on!

    Reply

    • Thanks, and thanks for the comment! I just now realize I need to update my photo on this page! This one makes me look sleepy. I mean, my newer one I would probably look sleepy too, but also older. Hmm.

      Reply

  28. Best of luck on finishing that first novel. Just a heads up, you’ll feel ludicrously proud of yourself for about a week and you’ll love every aspect of it, and then you’ll sit down to start looking for agents and publishers, and you’ll probably think something like, “This is crap. Why in the world did I think this was so great. Look at that first line of dialogue! So clunky! There are so many other writers out there. Who’s going to pay attention to me?” Take a breath, maybe slap yourself in the face once or twice, and remind yourself of that initial exhilaration. Be proud, because you’ve crossed a major milestone. Plus, you know, your novel is the bee’s knees and all that.
    If you are interested in getting paid to write, give my blog a look. I love input and feedback from other writers.

    Reply

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