I Am the Work

I write notes to myself all the time — story ideas, philosophical musings, observations about history, social dynamics, lotsa stuff — and I keep them in an e-notepad. Some of them turn into stories, others mutate into something else. Some just stay notes. But I’m the only one who gets anything out of them. I’ve kept them to myself, hoarding them, so I could save them for my own purposes. But what if I never use them? What if some of my best ideas stay stuck in the bottom of the bag — maybe because I don’t recognize how useful they are? What if something I noticed and wrote down might have given somebody else a really powerful thought, or just something to think about?

Well, anyway, I was talking to Heather one night and I realized that, as much as I’m writing stories, or planning them, I’m growing and evolving as a creative mind. In a way, the stories and concepts are the artifacts of that growth; it’s not the stories as much as the mind that I’m developing. Going with that idea, I realized the notes are worth a lot more if other people have access to them. So: publish them even as they’re developing. It’s still publishing; what I’ve written remains my property, but that doesn’t mean it can’t inspire somebody else with an even better idea. Plus, maybe if some folks give me a little feedback I’ll know which ones people are most interested in hearing more about.

So, here I go…

This part is important: The ultimate goal is to have these ideas, scenes, what-have-yous turn eventually into published work, available to anyone at a very reasonable price. If you see something you like or would like to read more about, please leave a comment. Or if you hate it for some reason, that’s fair too—I would just love to get some feedback. You don’t have to register to comment, and no salesman will call on you.