To Write or Not To Write?
I've been reading here for over a year, but only got the nerve to write anything in mid-July after getting out of the hospital. I've been an avid reader all my life, mostly sci-fi and history, but I hadn't written anything since college. In high-school I wrote science-fiction and fantasy since those were my favorite reading material, but in college my professors said I had a very good grip on writing more historical stuff, so I did that for assignments.
It took twenty years for me to discover writing sites on the internet, and it took me a year to begin writing at an interactive historical role-play site. I've been doing that for the past ten years with a couple other people, and one of the stories has gay-themed scenarios, but GA is my very first attempt to really write gay fiction. My biggest hurdle is not the fact that it's gay fiction, but that it's sex fiction of any sort.
I was not raised in a religious house--though we attended services most Sundays until I was 12--but I am hopelessly a product of my small-town mid-60s childhood! By small town, I mean small--2500 people, in the middle of farm country, everyone knew you by name if not by sight; to smoke or even swear was a big deal and done in secret by kids until high-school, drinking was only at a few parties if you could find someone of age to buy beer outside our dry town; and sex?--you heard about it generally in health class, otherwise you might find an older sibling's magazine...and no one spoke about it other than in whispers amongst your peers.
As far as gay sex--an entirely unknown quantity. If you were lucky, you might experiment with a friend, but it was never acknowledged or pursued into older school years. In the days before computers or vcrs, or even cable tv, what was a kid who wasn't straight to do? I can answer that: nothing. Until college.
Even in college, encounters were few and far between due to my social awkwardness...most kids came from larger, Eastern towns, so I felt like a local yokel with little to offer. It was only after graduation that I went to my first gay bar...with mostly straight friends with open minds! I'd have two drinks, dance a few times then go home.
What's the point of all this, you may ask? Just this: I love to write, I love to try to express my feelings in a way others can relate to...but at heart, I'm still a shy country boy who values friends more than being a social giant...so if my prose seems a bit odd, or even a little self-conscious, I'm doing my best to fit into the 21st Century...I only have to drag myself forward another thirty years, so please be patient.
Even the still small voice from the wilderness has something to say....
- 5
7 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now