It has been some time since I have written here on this blog about my personal circumstances in the last couple of years.  Firstly, I moved from the manic city of Sydney to a place near the sleepy Victorian town of Myrtleford.  It has been a timely change of pace for my family and I, as it allows us to enjoy the outdoors sans crowded streets and heavy traffic.  These days I work as a forklift driver, which I enjoy since it’s a job that doesn’t require much thinking.  (Thinking, I find, is over-rated!).  

I recently commenced a Master of Creative writing in order too … master creative writing.  Although I have been writing poetry for the last 8 years, I have decided to switch gears and develop my craft in writing stories.  Why?  Because when I was a teenager, I experienced some success writing short stories;* I vividly remember my Year 12 English teacher being so pleased with my work that he copied my story and handed it out to my fellow students as an example of how to write in the short story form. 

When I left school, I buried this gift because I was told that I ‘had’ to earn money, pay bills, get married, and have children.  Now that I have done (and am doing) these things, and since my daughters are in their late ‘teens, I am now pursuing writing.  I love using my imagination.  Yet I also feel like I am at a stage in my life where I have the ability to write better fiction than before because I have matured.  I’ve calmed down a lot since I was a ‘teen; I understand myself and life a lot more, and a part of this has been confronting ugly truths about myself and the world.  It’s also a better time because I have experienced so many things that I can easily turn into decent works of fiction.

I may share here what I write, and maybe not.  Right now I am enjoying the ride 🙂

 

* My favourite short story is The Necklace by author Guy de Maupassant.  Have a read of it: the ending will have you stumped.