Writing

Fiction

My fiction writing is my driving force, so-to-speak, in terms of what I would like to accomplish in life. At the time of this writing, I’m about twenty pages into a novel that I hope will be the first in a series. As for genre, I suppose you could call it a sort of retro conspiracy romp.

Aside from that, I have a fantasy series that I am hoping to get published. I’m also working on a pen-and-paper role-playing game that ties into the series. I have high hopes for this, as I feel the game aspect of it will allow me to continually create new content on a regular basis.

The only other large fiction project I have is a sort of supernatural thriller that follows a troubled young man through a string of adventures across the highways of the United States. I’m in the stages of rewriting the original manuscript that I started writing about twenty years ago. How’s that for procrastinating?

Lastly, I’m entering contests and submitting short stories to various publications in the hopes of getting some traction. I’ll keep you informed of how that’s going. As of this moment, I am nobody.

Out There

Throughout my life, I’ve often been accused of being a bit “out there.” The older I get, I’ve come to embrace that and am now hoping to create in that space. To that end, in this section I will include various writings covering a variety of topics that some might consider “out there.” My interests span anywhere from conspiracy theory to lost cities.

Pen-and-Paper Gaming

For those of you wondering what pen-and-paper gaming is (sometimes referred to as table top role-playing), it’s a type of gaming that involves friends sitting around a table playing through an imagined universe utilizing published rules and assorted dice. Dungeons & Dragons is arguably the most recognized game of this type, especially given its recent inclusion in the popular Netflix series, Stranger Things.

My involvement in this hobby is multifaceted. I like to create content for existing games and am working on creating my own rules system. Also, I like to play the games. In addition to playing with friends, my own children are now old enough to play and actively want to participate. On a side note, I’m looking into getting into game reviews as well.

I’d like to add that recently I’ve become interested in the idea of solo gaming. It seems to require a tricky sort of balancing act between refereeing and playing that requires an extensive amount of imagination. I’ve been looking at some of the content that has been released over the last few years, and it looks to be a viable thing. When I was young, the closest I ever came to playing “solo” was following along in Choose Your Own Adventure books and Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf series.

As I delve deeper into this topic over coming months, I’m hoping to accomplish two things. Firstly, I see it as a growing area that I might be able to create content for (i.e., get paid). Secondly, I’m hoping that the ability to play in this manner can serve as a sort of spark to keep writing in the fantasy genre.

Learning

One of the most difficult things I am finding, at this point in my life, is my lack of ability to learn new things. The retention is just not there like it was when I was younger. Nevertheless, I still attempt to learn new things to better myself and my situation. Right now, my learning is focused on the Japanese language and various technologies in the area of computer science. Also, I am also always trying to get better at playing guitar. That’s entirely just for me. Much of what I gather in my various learning journeys will be shared in the "My Notebook" section of this site.