It's been a few years since I've written. I've had a few things happen, but mostly I've realized that I'll never be a full time writer. I have too many hobbies and too many other obligations to make it a career. On top of this, I am not good at editing my own work.
I of course blame myself, but if I had to explain why I murder grammar the way I do, I'd have talk about R.L. Stein's The New Girl. I loved that book growing up. I've read it about four times now and each time I realized more and more how bad his grammar is as an example to young readers. I took a lot from his cadence, patterns, and delivery. Although I added bad spelling to the mix, it still ends up the largest influence to how I write.
I started writing about Zack and Kyli in mid 2005. I envisioned them as the tragic couple at odds with their world. I formed them above all else and soon I had a very clear visage to work from when writing their story. I could hear them. See them. Talk to them. I knew how they felt and how they would react. As I got to know them, my writing continued. Unfortunately my editing skills did not. I am quite proud of my creative ability, but I am equally ashamed of my technical failures in literature.
With each new chapter and incarnation of the story, I got better and better at defining my style and inventive quarks. But I did nothing to improve myself as a writer that can actually write well. I liken it to a painter that can see exactly the vision of what they want to paint, but lacks the skill to show others how it appears to them.
I know now what I need to do to proceed if I intend to. I have got to take a college course on writing. I need to put in the time. Otherwise, my writing will always be considered amateur and be dismissed.
I also know that taking that class for a semester would be nearly impossible in the foreseeable future. There are too many current obstacles. I know in time they will be gone, but for now, I know the truth. They are not going to disappear. I'll have to remove them. And that I know will take time in itself.
So in the meantime, I've taken to writing new short stories on inkitt and blogger using my phone for convenience. Because it does come down to that final fact. The easier it is to do, the more consistent I can be in my writing. And that's ultimately what it comes down to.
So for now, enjoy the writing when it comes maybe once a year. Outside of that we'll both have to wait until I'm able to devote enough time to become a better writer.
Sincerely,
Virgil Allen Moore
