I joined this forum in 2011, but I got distracted after a few years by work, family illness and later an addition to my own family (who is now 2 years old and pretty much the boss of our home). But recently I've longed to get back to writing and to being part of a writer's community, so I started up with my contemporary short stories again ... and this summer I would like to reconnect with the lovely people who love the written word.
And I thought there'd be no better place to (re)start than here on AW, since I remember it was a pretty darn good forum. I got some good critiques for my stories and read some great stories, as well - way back when.
Now the years have passed and I have been thinking long and hard about how much I want to prioritize writing in the rest of my future. I'm 45 and I run a small business and I have, as said, a little family and that takes up about 95 percent of my time. But I honestly want to lay the groundwork for a more balanced future with more writing. I do websites and small business consulting for work and the creative part of me is seriously undernourished. I can't really see myself grow into old age and continue to let things go on like that. So I have decided to pick up my short story writing again and maybe some other projects down the line, and it already feels damn good!
Some history if anyone is interested: I have found that in previous decades whenever I tried to be too commercial about my writing (and experiment with other genres) my heart was not really in it. I began thinking more about numbers, sales, marketing technicalities and sometimes also query letters and all that - many other things than the love of writing. And I usually bogged down.
I'd like to give it an honest shot, though, over the next decade or so, writing more stories and selfpublishing short stories in extended versions on the various ebook markets out there and then over time see how much of my income I can switch from doing tech-stuff to doing word-stuff. I figure I might be surprised if I hang in there long enough.
Anyway, contemporary fiction is not a goldmine, I know, whether you are selfpubbed or are good enough to get some legacy publisher to take on your work. But as my customer network in the tech business grows organically and as my son grows older and can take more care of himself, my primary aim is to get as much written as possible in my spare time and have fun doing it.
To put it in another way: I want some good memories for the next decade or two, and right now I can't think of any better memories to have than as many days as possible immersing myself in writing.
I'll be hanging out mostly in the SYW Contemporary and Literary Fiction Sections, so maybe I will see you there!
Best,
Chris
And I thought there'd be no better place to (re)start than here on AW, since I remember it was a pretty darn good forum. I got some good critiques for my stories and read some great stories, as well - way back when.
Now the years have passed and I have been thinking long and hard about how much I want to prioritize writing in the rest of my future. I'm 45 and I run a small business and I have, as said, a little family and that takes up about 95 percent of my time. But I honestly want to lay the groundwork for a more balanced future with more writing. I do websites and small business consulting for work and the creative part of me is seriously undernourished. I can't really see myself grow into old age and continue to let things go on like that. So I have decided to pick up my short story writing again and maybe some other projects down the line, and it already feels damn good!
Some history if anyone is interested: I have found that in previous decades whenever I tried to be too commercial about my writing (and experiment with other genres) my heart was not really in it. I began thinking more about numbers, sales, marketing technicalities and sometimes also query letters and all that - many other things than the love of writing. And I usually bogged down.
I'd like to give it an honest shot, though, over the next decade or so, writing more stories and selfpublishing short stories in extended versions on the various ebook markets out there and then over time see how much of my income I can switch from doing tech-stuff to doing word-stuff. I figure I might be surprised if I hang in there long enough.
Anyway, contemporary fiction is not a goldmine, I know, whether you are selfpubbed or are good enough to get some legacy publisher to take on your work. But as my customer network in the tech business grows organically and as my son grows older and can take more care of himself, my primary aim is to get as much written as possible in my spare time and have fun doing it.
To put it in another way: I want some good memories for the next decade or two, and right now I can't think of any better memories to have than as many days as possible immersing myself in writing.
I'll be hanging out mostly in the SYW Contemporary and Literary Fiction Sections, so maybe I will see you there!
Best,
Chris
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, Chris. 
