Well, I’ve started a blog. I mentioned this to my wife the other night and she said, “Why do you need a blog?” Note that there was a lot of emphasis on the word “you,” and I took this to mean that other people needed a blog, much more interesting people, naturally, but a fairly boring person like myself didn’t need one. Well, she may not have meant it that way, but if she did she’s right: I probably am boring (which is the chief reason I write fiction, so I can pretend I’m much more interesting than I actually am), but I’m just stubborn enough to try this thing anyway. Hey, if even the Pope has a blog, why not me?
That said, it’s hard to write about my life at all without occasionally mentioning people in my life. There’s only so much I can say about the time I spend alone in the car commuting to work. (Today’s road kill count: 3.) So if you’re that annoying guy at the post office who smells like my sock drawer, and you recognize yourself here, I’m sorry. But I am a writer, you know. It’s all grist for the mill.
Anyway, brief introductions. My name is Scott William Carter. I can’t imagine you coming to this blog without knowing my name, but when one says “brief introductions,” it’s pretty hard to start any other way. I’m a professional fiction writer. This means I write fiction for money. I write fiction for lots of other reasons, too, of course, but because my eventual goal is to make a living writing fiction, money has to be one of the primary motivations. I’ve sold close to twenty short stories to a variety of markets, all of which are listed on my website. After spending years working on my craft with short fiction, I’ve been spending more time on novels — which goes back to that money thing. Though short stories are my first love, and undoubtedly always will be, it’s really hard to make a living at this unless you write novels. That said, I love everything about the craft of writing fiction. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing this, because there are lots of easier ways to make a living you know.
I’ve titled this blog “On Reading and Writing,” and most of my posts will have something to do with those two subjects, but when you’re a writer, everything is about writing in one way or another, so that’s a pretty broad canvas. I might mention exciting news regarding my fiction, works in progress, good books or stories read, and insights into the human condition. That last category will probably be the most rare, because, frankly, I barely understand myself let alone the human condition, but I’ll do the best I can. I know a lot of people post daily in their blogs, but I probably won’t be doing that. With a full time day job, a wife and two-year-old, and various other things that take up my time, I channel most of my remaining energy into my fiction. But I’ll drop by when I can. I don’t have a comments section because I’m not sure I have time to monitor it, but if you want to say hi, send me in an email (scott@scottwilliamcarter.com). I’d love to hear from you.
P.S. Just realized that my first post was on a Friday the 13th. Hmm . . .