By now, some of you have probably asked yourself -- "What's with this Duncan, fellow? Can't he shut up? I can't keep up with his blathering."
Thing is, I like to write.
The following isn't meant to be egotistical. But it does explain why I write so much.
Growing up in Bend, I don't remember 'creative writing' as being part of the curriculum. I can count on one hand the number of times I was asked to write something creatively. Maybe there were other incidences, but I don't remember them.
In the fifth grade, I wrote a story about Snoopy and the Red Baron that was a huge hit with my classmates and my teacher. I mean, I was a rock star for about a week. At the end of the school year, my teacher singled me out to read it again in front of the class. For reasons I don't now remember, I was disgruntled and mumbled my way through the reading. I'll always remember the leaden response from my teacher and classmates.
It taught me that, if put in that postion, I at least need to try.
Then in the seventh grade I had an art teacher who assigned a clipped out picture from Life Magazine to each student, and asked them to write a story about it. Mine was a picture of the red rock bridge monument in the Southwest. As I went to sleep, my brain started churning out this tremendously emotional story of life and love and death and meeting under the bridge that was epic in scope. Epic, I tell you!
I woke up the next morning and dished out something else, got my usual A or B grade, and forgot about it. Well, not completely, because that creative urge that set in that night lingered. What if I had actually written it?
Then as a sophomore in high school, in a business class of all things, we had a guest speaker. It was a radio ad guy, who is sort of really well known in this area (I still hear his voice on local T.V. and radio.). He asked us if we wanted to try to create a 60 second ad, and gave us the particulars. I seem to remember it being a V.W. ad. Anyway, I wrote something out and that was that.
A few days later, he came up to me after class and asked if I was Duncan McGeary, and would I mind if he used my ad copy in a radio ad. I was a bit surprised, but said, sure why not?
And sure enough, there it was on radio shortly thereafter.
All these were small signs that I liked to write. I'd get idle comments from teachers, like "You have a facile ability with words which you need to discipline." And I'd usually get that moment in college when the professor who had ignored me up that moment would seek eye contact with me after I'd written my first paper and seem to be saying, "I'm on to you. I know who you are now." I even had a teacher say that outloud in class in front of everyone, embarrassing me. "Duncan knows this, but Duncan won't say. Duncan knows more than he's letting on...."
Just before going off to college the second time (I flubbed the first time) I had another one of those brainstorms. I loved Lord of the Rings, and nothing like LOTR's had been written up to that point, and I wanted to write something like it. My family was dubious, my mother was worried. I heard a lot of "You should be realistic." Only my friend Wes encouraged me, for which I'm eternally grateful.
I was stuck, though, on how to get started. Finally, I said to myself, "Just write a story. A story you would like."
Two sleepless nights later, I had STAR AXE pretty much mapped out. It took me another five years of flailing around trying to write it, but I finally got it put together and sent off. (By which time there were innumerable LOTR pastiches, sigh.)
It completely surprised me when it was accepted by not one, but two publishers. The money wasn't as much as I thought, but it was a beginning. I immediately wrote the next novel, and got it accepted, and then started the third.
Eventually, I wrote 7 novels, and the sixth and seventh I felt were the best. But in the meantime, I ran up against the reality of the business of publishing. Sending books off into the VOID and not hearing anything for years at a time.
So when I bought the store and was immediately rewarded for my creative efforts, writing took a back seat. I intended to start writing again, someday.
Blogging has become that writing...
I figure about 3 or 4 novels worth of words.
But with immediate gratification of seeing it out in the world that very minute.
Because, you know, I just like writing stuff.
Thing is, I like to write.
The following isn't meant to be egotistical. But it does explain why I write so much.
Growing up in Bend, I don't remember 'creative writing' as being part of the curriculum. I can count on one hand the number of times I was asked to write something creatively. Maybe there were other incidences, but I don't remember them.
In the fifth grade, I wrote a story about Snoopy and the Red Baron that was a huge hit with my classmates and my teacher. I mean, I was a rock star for about a week. At the end of the school year, my teacher singled me out to read it again in front of the class. For reasons I don't now remember, I was disgruntled and mumbled my way through the reading. I'll always remember the leaden response from my teacher and classmates.
It taught me that, if put in that postion, I at least need to try.
Then in the seventh grade I had an art teacher who assigned a clipped out picture from Life Magazine to each student, and asked them to write a story about it. Mine was a picture of the red rock bridge monument in the Southwest. As I went to sleep, my brain started churning out this tremendously emotional story of life and love and death and meeting under the bridge that was epic in scope. Epic, I tell you!
I woke up the next morning and dished out something else, got my usual A or B grade, and forgot about it. Well, not completely, because that creative urge that set in that night lingered. What if I had actually written it?
Then as a sophomore in high school, in a business class of all things, we had a guest speaker. It was a radio ad guy, who is sort of really well known in this area (I still hear his voice on local T.V. and radio.). He asked us if we wanted to try to create a 60 second ad, and gave us the particulars. I seem to remember it being a V.W. ad. Anyway, I wrote something out and that was that.
A few days later, he came up to me after class and asked if I was Duncan McGeary, and would I mind if he used my ad copy in a radio ad. I was a bit surprised, but said, sure why not?
And sure enough, there it was on radio shortly thereafter.
All these were small signs that I liked to write. I'd get idle comments from teachers, like "You have a facile ability with words which you need to discipline." And I'd usually get that moment in college when the professor who had ignored me up that moment would seek eye contact with me after I'd written my first paper and seem to be saying, "I'm on to you. I know who you are now." I even had a teacher say that outloud in class in front of everyone, embarrassing me. "Duncan knows this, but Duncan won't say. Duncan knows more than he's letting on...."
Just before going off to college the second time (I flubbed the first time) I had another one of those brainstorms. I loved Lord of the Rings, and nothing like LOTR's had been written up to that point, and I wanted to write something like it. My family was dubious, my mother was worried. I heard a lot of "You should be realistic." Only my friend Wes encouraged me, for which I'm eternally grateful.
I was stuck, though, on how to get started. Finally, I said to myself, "Just write a story. A story you would like."
Two sleepless nights later, I had STAR AXE pretty much mapped out. It took me another five years of flailing around trying to write it, but I finally got it put together and sent off. (By which time there were innumerable LOTR pastiches, sigh.)
It completely surprised me when it was accepted by not one, but two publishers. The money wasn't as much as I thought, but it was a beginning. I immediately wrote the next novel, and got it accepted, and then started the third.
Eventually, I wrote 7 novels, and the sixth and seventh I felt were the best. But in the meantime, I ran up against the reality of the business of publishing. Sending books off into the VOID and not hearing anything for years at a time.
So when I bought the store and was immediately rewarded for my creative efforts, writing took a back seat. I intended to start writing again, someday.
Blogging has become that writing...
I figure about 3 or 4 novels worth of words.
But with immediate gratification of seeing it out in the world that very minute.
Because, you know, I just like writing stuff.