Gratitude and My First Post

This is an interesting stage for a writer—for me as a writer, to be more precise.

I’ve worked long hours from the first week in January until mid-April for the last four years as an H&R Block tax preparer so that I can write during the off-season. This year, I was particularly anxious to see tax season come to an end.

It’s not that I dislike the work. I enjoy it on many levels. Preparing personal tax returns is like solving math puzzles subject to elaborate interpretive rules, and requires the help of publications, software, and client testimony. The last brings in a delicate social element where a bit of hand-holding is often required. I respect every part of the process. The work and the people are important to me.

But my passion is writing, a different sort of puzzle, strangely riddled with some of the same challenges. The characters face what the taxpayers face: Fate is cruel, and the rules can be harsh, but you can be master of your destiny if you listen to others—the right others—and learn how to ride the system you’re bound to instead of beating at it.

Yep. I suppose that about captures the similarities.

So how is this stage interesting? I’ve been tempted to say I’m writing to the void, but it’s not accurate: I’m not writing to the void. As with most aspiring authors, I have people close to me who urge me onward and read everything I ask them to read. These people are precious to me, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. They know, however, that they are not my sole intended audience. In fact, some have humored me even when the subject matter isn’t quite their cup of tea. And I’ve seized onto this idea as an opportunity for growth—if I can give both speculative fiction fans and fans of other genres a product they value, then I have communicated well, and on a really good day, enticingly.

But I’m certainly not writing to the void now. I’m writing to you. I’ve passed the never-published barrier, and now you’re real, aren’t you? Though you may be few in number, I welcome you to my world. It’s evolving, and you will have a chance to see it evolve. That’s a very interesting stage for a writer. So I thank you, afore and after and everywhere in between.