An introduction

I have created this blog to chronicle my writing career. I just today received in the mail a copy of the 2010 edition of The Novel And Short Story Writer's Market. With its help, I hope to seek a market for my writing.

Novels have always been my goal, but a few years ago I discovered the attraction of the short story. Since then, I have written several short stories, and am also working on the preliminaries of writing a novel. I have sent some of my stories to writing contests. Sadly, I haven't won yet. To be honest, I would have been very astonished if any of my first entries had won, fond as I am of them. I realize I still have a lot to learn, and I hope that getting some rejection slips under my belt will help me improve my writing skills.

My main area of interest is in Science Fiction; more specifically, Space Opera. Like many of my peers, I grew up watching shows like Star Trek and Babylon 5, and reading the works of such masters of the craft as Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. Grand space adventures have always been my favorite, thrilling tales of alien planets, fantastic technology, and daring heroism. In later years, my tastes have matured a bit. I prefer more human protagonists, people I can relate to more than larger-than-life heroes who make the most impossible odds seem only like a light work out. I still derive great enjoyment from such works as E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series, but now characterization interests me just as much as cool gadgets and far-flung civilizations. These are the kinds of tales I wish to tell.

I've written a few stories in other genres, as well. My first completed short story is about a serial killer, with some supernatural aspects thrown in. I won second prize in a very unofficial contest with that story. I will include it here on this site, as a sample of my writing technique as it was five or so years ago. I can only hope that more recent entries will show that I've improved over time.

I plan on updating this blog whenever I have news to report; be it a manuscript I've submitted to a publisher, a new story I'm working on, or anything else relating to my efforts in writing. For matters of a less professional manner, please see my other blog, Rumbles From The Earth.

-E. Maxfield Moen