There have been four defining moments in my writing career: at the age of 12 I read Heinlein's short story, "By His Bootstraps," and immediately became obsessed with science fiction (with a preference towards tales of time travel); at the age of 15 I was encouraged to write short stories by my English school teacher (that is, my teacher encouraged me to write, as opposed to me plagiarising stories already written by my teacher); at the age of 21 I read Delany's "Dhalgren" and realised that this was the type of fiction writing I wanted to aspire to; at the age of 30, I met Sean Williams...
At the age of 40, I no longer focus solely upon science fiction as I did through my teen years. I still write, though have recognised the need to concentrate on novel writing now as opposed to short stories. I still dream of one day penning a Delany-esque book, but as the years tick by this seems increasingly unlikely to ever eventuate. And, despite the beard, long hair and considerably different writing styles, I am still, on occasion, mistaken for Sean...
I am not what you would call a highly prolific writer, but I am steadily productive. Over the years I have managed to write about two dozen or so short stories. Some of these have even been fortunate enough to have found homes in magazines and/or anthologies, while others have been secreted away in a vault where no-one will ever find them. This is as much for my own sake as it is humanity's. Nevertheless, awful as they might be, I cannot bring myself to do the humane thing and dispose of them. They are attempts at writing which failed, yes, but they also make up the foundation stones upon which I have built my writing career (for want of a word). They were part of the creative process which made me what I am today.
And what exactly am I? I am a writer, that much I know. Not a major writer, admittedly, but a writer nonetheless. In fact, even had I never been published, I would still have been a writer. I write, therefore I am (a writer.) For the last few years I have been co-writing with my good friend, Sean Williams. Together we have written a trilogy of books which go under the collective banner of Evergence. This is a collaboration I am immensely proud of, and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to work with Sean. Writing with him was an invaluable learning experience for me, and hopefully in the not too distant future I will get the chance to work with him again on the second Evergence trilogy (sales of the first trilogy permitting). In the meantime, however, I am busy working on my own book - a suspense/horror story, which is a far cry from anything I have ever attempted before.
What the future holds for me, God only knows (and he/she isn't telling). I do have a few projects lined up that I would like to develop over the next few years, including:
- mainstream novel which deals with a relationship that challenges social mores, and how the prejudices of a conventional society can impact upon such a relationship;
- a psychological drama set predominantly within the mind of one of the protagonists;
- a time travel story based upon a short story I wrote about ten years ago; and,
- a grand and somewhat indulgent saga in which I attempt to deal with the premise that we are all responsible for our own actions in a predetermined universe (it's my choice to write it, but it was always going to happen, you know?).
As well, I have ideas for a science fiction script, a recipe book, a couple of children's books (just need an illustrator, because stick figures just don't cut it with kids these days -- nor with the editors, for that matter!), and a book looking at my experiences as a parent and child-care worker. Whether or not any of these projects get to see the light of day, of course, remains to be seen. But it doesn't matter either way. I will continue to write regardless, because, to quote Delany, I have an "exhausting habit of trying to tack up the slack in my life with words."
