W R I T I N G

As of July 2001 I can say that I write for a living. Well, 'living' might be pushing it. Thankfully, I have a very supportive wife.

I was surprised by the amount of writing opportunities that exist. Without really trying I was published in magazines, journals and textbooks. Since taking it on as a serious occupation I've broadened out into fiction, and I'm even doing some work as a researcher/writer on an Academic Paper on Leprosy in association with the Otago Medical School.

My Publications-to-Date are listed for those interested. There is also a free Illustrated Story on this website, but be warned it is not something serious.

In order to learn the craft I have taken a couple of writing courses. Prof. Bob Onopa's excellent SF Writing Workshop course at Victoria University of Wellington, and John McInnes' wonderful nightclass, 'Writing for Fun and Income', at Onslow College (Continuing Education). Both opened up new areas for me, and I wish to thank both of them for explaining to me that if I became a writer I would always be poor.

I've also read a number of those books that attempt to tell you how to write, most with limited success. However, I can strongly recommend Dameon Knight's Writing Short Fiction.

The internet, and particularly email, has provided me with my biggest opportunities. Communicating with editors via electronic mail means that while I live in New Zealand I can write for companies all around the world. It is also a great topic to write about, and I have published a number of Magazine Articles on web topics. I also Teach Internet and HTML courses for Onslow College's Continuing Education program.

However, my favourite topic to write about is people. People are funny. People are wonderful. People are stupid. People are people.