"Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome..."

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:56:08 GMT

Hello, everybody! ("Hey, Dr. Nick!")

Many people on LJ already know me as gay_maverick, and I'm still keeping that particular Journal up and going.

Anyway, just a little bit about me, in case you don't already know me:

My name is Dale. I'm 34 years old, and I live in Las Cruces, NM, a city of about 100,000 located just about an hour north of the U.S./Mexico border in south-central New Mexico. I was born in Flagstaff, AZ, but I've lived here since I was five years old, except for the five years that I went to college at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM. My major in college was Communication Arts -- Theatre Emphasis, but I didn't get to finish because of a huge mix-up in the financial aid department which left me owing thousands of dollars to the University. I've since paid off the debt, but my own ambivalence toward formal education, as well as my financial responsibilities, have kept me from pursuing any more college classes. I also am currently carrying the burden of caring for my mother, who is not in very good health, and my 11-year-old brother, Jonathan, who is the light of my life (even if he does drive me crazy at times).

And, oh, yeah, I'm gay, although I sincerely hope you won't find that to be my most interesting feature.

My username, just for the record, does not come from Herman Melville's titular scrivener, although I was subjected to that particular novella when I was in high school. No, I took the name from a much less scholarly source: Kevin Smith. Bartleby is the name of Ben Affleck's fallen angel character in Smith's film Dogma, which ranks as one of my favorite movies. Much of Bartleby's character has always resonated with me: his having been an observer (or Watcher, as he's referred to in the movie); his sympathetic nature and tendency to question authority; and also his bitterness and deep feelings of betrayal and abandonment from being cast out by his Father.

Now, on to another subject: Why this journal?

Although I was a Theatre major, and although I still pursue theatrical endeavors as a hobby, my first and most enduring love has always been writing. As far back as the Second Grade, I knew that writing was in my blood. When my teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, and all the other boys were saying they wanted to be firemen and policemen and astronauts and lawyers, I told her that I was going to write the Great American Novel.

Of course, things don't always work out the way we plan, and for most of my adult life I've been plagued with frequent long bouts of writer's block, coupled with a procrastinating nature and the attention span of a gnat. So, needless to say, I've yet to complete anything beyond a few short stories, and most of those have been fanfiction (which, because they're not my characters, don't do me any good financially).

Recently, however, I've made a pact with myself: I've set a goal to have completed at least the first draft and one rewrite of a full novel by the time I reach my 36th birthday, in September of 2008. It's going to be a stretch, especially since I have two major theatrical commitments coming up during the next 15 months, but I think I can do it. And as part of keeping myself motivated, I'm starting this journal.

I won't be posting my novel here, or even giving many specifics; no, what this is going to be is a collection of my thoughts, my fears, my hopes, my philosophies, anything having to do with writing. If I'm particularly proud of my progress, or frustrated with my lack thereof, it will go in here. Occasionally, I may use samples of what I've written to illustrate a point, but for the most part, this is just a way of getting the junk in my head out there, and maybe a way to connect with other writers who may be going through the same emotional experiences as I am.

Either way, except for this post, this journal will be Friends Only. But all you need to do to be added as a friend is either comment here, or add me as your friend, and you'll be in!

Writer On the Storm

"Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome..."