Any blogger or writer writing a blog (I fall into the latter category) must answer this fundamental question before word one is ever committed to the page and shared with the world:

Why do it?

Why put in the time, effort and concentration on top of all your other creative, business, and personal commitments and various other drains on your time, attention, and energy? The answer is simple:

PASSION.

Some people blog to share views with the world regarding politics, religion, social issues, or to talk about family, friends, children, grandchildren, etc. Some do it with the written word or photographs. Others do it with video entries. Some do it for free. Some do it for money. I do not think that monetizing one’s blog automatically decreases the validity of the content. People and organizations have built their followings to such a degree they have been able to find ways to monetize their efforts so they can expand and continue on (and good for them). Still others (like me) begin doing it for a variety of reasons. I cannot speak to the motivations of others, but I can speak to mine.

I am passionate about writing — both the creative and the business aspects of it. Naturally, I want to create quality “creative content” (I call it “art”), but I also like to eat and have a roof over my head. So the business end of things (read, “financial”) also keenly interest me. I do not equate selling my art for money with selling out. I consider it an opportunity that few writers are fortunate enough to achieve. It’s an opportunity for some financial security, and for the freedom to continue spending the majority of my time in the life I have left creating more art.

Since 1995, I have concentrated most of my creative efforts into learning the craft of film and television screenwriting. This is a unique craft with its own set of writing and formatting rules that are separate and distinct from any other writing form — with the possible exception of comic books and graphic novels. I have had a moderate amount of success, with two feature films having been produced for the low budget direct to video market from scripts I wrote.

Since 2014, I have gone back to my writing roots in novels and short stories. I do it sort of like a hobby, a literary glass of wine to cleanse my creative palette in between screenwriting project main courses. More on those efforts in future blogs.

Ultimately, as my blog site’s title suggests, this is about this horrorwriter’s life. Who I am, what events made me the way I am, why I write in primarily the horror genre and in related dark genres, my ups and down both personally and professionally. This blog and this site is designed to give you insight into one writer’s process, motivation, predispositions, opinions, loves, successes, failures, and lessons learned.

And in the end, isn’t that what life is really all about?