A year later the bosses wanted me to resume working full-time. Unfortunately for them, I realized I liked the 40% of my life I wasn’t “working” much better than the 60% I was working, and I retired at age 51.
Nature hates a void, and so do people when they think the void is someone else’s time. As soon as I retired, everyone had opinions about what I should do with my “free” time. I promised to give myself six months to decide what I wanted to do next.
I read books such as Zen and the Art of Making a Living by Laurence G. Boldt. I made lists of activities I enjoyed and those I didn’t. (I’m big on lists.) After six months of reflection (and saying no to everyone else who wanted me to join this, that or the other pet project of theirs) I knew I wanted to write.
I’m a lot more knowledgeable about writing almost eight years later. The truth is almost anyone can write. It takes time and dedication to learn to write well. It takes something more to write well and sell your work.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes and done a few things right. I still have plenty to learn. I’ll give you the scoop on some of my doozies, talk about some things I think I’ve done right and keep you abreast of current happenings.
I’ve met some interesting people along my writing journey, and I hope to get them to share their insights.
I’ll end this with a confession. I have a criminal mind. I also have an active imagination. Picturing myself in prison has saved me from any temptations I might have had to run a scam or two or six. As a writer, I get to do it all. I create the scams AND decide if the bad guys go free or get caught.
Sometimes, whether they deserve it or not, I kill people.
~ Jim
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