My Goal is to Write Many Novels and Help a few Writers Along the Way
I first started writing as a young Infantry Officer sitting alone in the back of the Officer’s club while drinking a cold beer. I worked seventy hours a week. I didn’t own a TV, had no social life, and I was in the field most of the time learning my craft as a platoon leader. I published my first article in Leatherneck magazine for five dollars. The editor said I had some talent and should continue writing. Unfortunately, my military life consumed me, and writing went by the wayside. I wrote many pages throughout those years and saved them in hopes one day I would write about my experiences.
It wasn’t till I retired I started to write again and published my first novel, Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown. I embarked on a second career and wrote when the urge hit me. It took me five years to finish this novel. It was five years of learning. I read twenty books on writing fiction, I read every blog on writing, listened to hundreds of hours of writing podcasts, watched interviews of famous writers, went to writing conferences, joined paid writers groups. I wrote about one million words, encompassing 55 edits and literally hundreds of changes. As a novice writer I did it…well, let’s just say I was the best at making all the mistakes. Somethings about writing I just could not understand and it cost me time and sweat. The only way I escaped the cruel fate of my own stupidity was to continue to practice writing…read a little more…practice…study a little more…practice writing…and so on….
I found out that most of the information on the internet and airways on writing had only one purpose. That was to up-sell me on their products. They gave just enough information to hook you to buy their products. The products gave you just enough information to buy their next product. So I laughed and quit wasting my time with most of them.
My website has no up-sells and I genuinely want to help the new writer. My advice? Read what you want, take want you can, and develop a passion for writing. I hope I can help you in some small way.
I am always available to assist writers with questions. My new novel Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Cleveland will be out soon.
