Writing to Find Myself

sacrificing dozens of notebooks to self-discovery

Visit tameri.com for information about what I do as an editor and “ghost” for others. Shameless self-promotion, but I have bills to pay.

Latest News

Since 2004, I have been working towards a doctoral degree. As a result, I have had limited time for writing the fiction I love.

Currently…

My monthly column on technology, Virtual Valley, appears in Visalia Direct, a free magazine distributed in Central California.

27 Sep 2002

The Garden, a full-length play, was produced by the Visalia Community Players. I hope this marks my entry into writing seriously, even if it was a comedy of sorts.

Early Writings - First Grade Through High School

Yes, I am a writer. There is much I have to learn about the process and editing, but I am a writer.

Few people know their “calling” in life for as long as I have known mine. I began writing short stories in the first grade. A class project introduced the idea of making small books, binding them with construction paper and electrical tape. In a box labeled “Notebooks” I have three of these books. My fourth grade teacher introduced an improvement to the process: laminating the covers.

While sorting this box of notebooks, I came across the first play I had “produced” — it was presented to my fifth grade class using puppets. The play, “Zegma,” depicted political corruption in a far-away galaxy. For some reason I found political corruption interesting at the age of ten or eleven. The script is 21 handwritten pages, running about ten minutes. I recall writing other plays, but this was the first presented to an audience greater than my sister and a collection of stuffed animals. Audience reaction was mixed, especially when the corrupt political leader died at the end of the play.

Tameri is Born

My debut as a “produced” playwright encouraged me to write longer and more complex works. Using the play “Zegma” as a foundation, I began developing a series of stories set in a fictional solar system and focusing upon the political intrigues within the various governments. After completing a few of these stories, I labeled the spiral-bound notebook “Tameranean Chronicles,” a reference to the planet Tameri on which most of the events occur. (Tameri is based upon a word I read, meaning “forest” or “garden.”) My last Tameri story was written before 1983. I am rewriting the chronicles as a series of novels.

I liked the name Tameri so much that it became the name of my consulting business. The Tameri Web pages feature information about grammar, editing, and other aspects of writing.

Journalism and Commentary

I do not recall how or why, but I enrolled in a journalism class during my sophomore year of high school. Journalism captured my imagination, as it did many children of Watergate and Vietnam. My enthusiasm lead to my departure from fiction and playwriting. Based upon the notebooks I saved, I wrote only two stories longer than 25 pages during high school. I did outline two scripts, but they were abandoned.

By then end of high school I imagined writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, preferably covering national politics. California's political happenings are seldom mentioned in our newspapers or on local news. Maybe Sacramento lacks anyplace for reporters to hangout with powerful people. It's the dirty secret of reporting: most reporters now want to appear on TV — and Sacramento doesn't get you on CNN or MSNBC.

I still want to be a political reporter, though it is a bit late for a new career. Also, I don't believe the entire pretense of “unbiased” reportage. Everything written is shaped by the views of the writer, any editors, and any policies of a given publication. Being a columnist would be my only chance.

Journals

The form of writing I have maintained with any regularity is journaling. The journals take the form of poetry and prose written into spiral-bound notebooks. Some of the entries are purely tests of my skills as a poet, while other are quite personal. Having kept these notebooks since the age of twelve, I can look back and see how my writing has changed. My penmanship changes, too.

Professional Hobbyist

A few years after college I rediscovered my interest in writing fiction and scripts. I began editing and revising my works in 1994, while managing EveryBit Software. As the manager of EveryBit, I prepared newsletters and various documents. These technical documents reminded me that printed working with words can be fun. I have been writing regularly since January 1995.

After a great deal of introspection, I decided my avocation of writing should be a full-time vocation — and that remains my goal. Reviving old outlines and manuscripts is my primary task. The manuscripts reside in boxes, binders, scrawled in spiral-bound notebooks, and on decade old computer diskettes.

This collection of Web pages served as the first step towards my recovery as a writer. I began constructing this site in November 1996, mainly to post my résumé on the Internet. With the posting of two short stories, the site evolved. By mid-December, six volumes of poetry were converted (unfortunately, not edited) and on display. I have elected to display more works, but only those I do not intend to sell. After all, as a professional writer, I can't be giving away everything I write. Well, as an aspiring professional it's still a bad idea.

Non-Fiction

Many forms of non-fiction exist; here I address only a handful. I begin with a discussion of technical writing, something I have done since 1986. I then discuss reportage in various forms. Finally, I wish to express my interest in expository and analytical writings.

Technical Writing

Some consider technical writing a lesser form of writing. I would not argue that most technical writing is entertaining or well-written — it is not. However, not all documentation is boring and the current trend is towards greater creativity in non-fiction of all forms. For this trend, I thank the IDG Dummies series of books. I have always tried to write with a touch of humor and in “plain English,” but the Dummies series has made this the standard in technical writing. While the series began with a computer focus, Dummies books on every imaginable topic now exist.

My hope is that companies consider this approach for documentation of various natures. I write technical documentation, multimedia reference books, and advertising materials. If the writer of a technical document makes it a challenge to digest the material, he or she fails as a writer. (Failing with an audience is not the same as losing one's job.) Amazingly, I do earn some money as a non-fiction writer and editor. While manuals and columns do not make one famous, they pay (some) bills.

Reportage

If I could choose a career, I still dream of being a newspaper reporter and columnist. I graduated with a degree in journalism at a time when newspapers were closing and the demand for reporters was declining. Wire services and newspaper chains might save the industry money, but the result is the same stories and opinions in hundreds of newspapers.

Yes, I could have tried to pursue the career with greater zeal and regret not doing so. Only years later do I realize how much ink is in my blood. If you are the editor or managing editor of a newspaper or news magazine, let me know. I am serious. I am willing to intern, though I have been out of school for some time, if it might lead to work as a reporter.

Expository

My pages on existentialism are indicative of my research skills and attention to detail. The pages will not be done for some time to come, if ever. It is impossible to produce a definitive work on the subject, but I am trying.

Fiction

For eight or more hours, five or six days a week, I write. Most of what I write can be classified as fiction — including much of my poetry. Fiction requires a great deal of energy, unlike technical writing, which I produce in a mild trance. The writing process is predominately one of preparation and editing, since I am dedicated to rescuing existing but unpublished works.