Introduction to My Writing Blog
My Writing Blog
Welcome to my new blog. This is not my first blog (by a long shot), but it is the first one that I have begun after embarking in earnest on my new journey as a fiction writer. Yesterday I completed the zero draft of my first science fiction novel. Creating a zero draft is a long way from having a publishable manuscript, but it is also a big step forward compared with my previous attempt at writing a novel.
I grew up in Savannah, Georgia where I discovered astronomy and science fiction during the early days of human space travel. At five I remember being upset that the morning cartoons were preempted by a pending rocket launch. But then the rocket launched and I was hooked! I eventually got a telescope, helped start a local astronomy group and even ran it for awhile. I also ran the local planetarium for just over a year. I even co-discovered a star (87 Leo Prime) and then went off to CalTech to earn a B.S. in Physics and Astronomy.
I never did anything with my degree and instead began a career in software development. I retired from software development in late 2022 after a career spanning over 42 years. During that time I worked on a number of ground breaking projects in 3D graphics and solid modelling, solar energy, chip test monitoring, object oriented programming and more. I created my own software package for the Amiga which was published as "Analytic Art" and featured fractal generation and other math art capabilities. I also started and ran my own software company which lasted about a decade and grew to 50 employees before the tech wreck killed it. Even though my company ultimately failed, I have no regrets about the experience.
I started to learn to play guitar at the fairly late age of 19 and ended up playing in several different rock and jazz bands and writing and co-writing a dozen songs including one that was apparently played on a radio station in Oregon. I even played once for a crowd of over 12,000 at a conference in Palm Springs. Later I learned to play some more stringed instruments and at one point I won third place in the Lone Star State Dulcimer Championship.
Besides my modest accomplishments with astronomy, software and music, I have enjoyed a number of other special experiences. I have attended several launches of large rockets at Cape Kennedy and witnessed a number of total solar eclipses. I have attended several hundred music concerts many of which are permanently etched in my brain. I also had a few exceptionally positive psychedelic experiences. I helped a young YouTube musician from South Korea find her place in the world. I also hooked up with another brilliant programmer who also loves science fiction and music and we have shared our lives for 40 years.
For me writing a novel is mostly about checking off one more box from my list of things that I would be pleased to have accomplished when looking back on my life. Of course I am doing my best to make the novel an enjoyable and maybe even profound reading experience, but the main idea is to finish it. I fully expect to publish it independently, but that is not cast in stone. As I will outline in a future blog, I am already contemplating sequels for my first novel and so, who knows, maybe this writing thing really will become a second career for me. I don't expect that to happen, but why not shot for the moon.
That's it for now. I have a ton of additional blog posts planned out already but with NaNoWriMo looming I don't know how much time I will have for blogging during November. We shall see. In any case this blog will be free to all readers. Enjoy and, if you are so inclined, please share this blog with your friends and followers.