Writing in the 80s

Some facts about my writing career just resurfaced as I emptied out old boxes:

My first published fiction piece was in an artsy mag called Chimera. - 1983

I wrote a pretty funny short story that I only sent out once back in 1986. Last night, I sent it out again.

For a time, I wrote poetry. - 1981

Comedian Tom Dreesen, who used to open for Frank Sinatra, rejected three jokes I sent him. - 1981

From 1985 to 1988, I sent out a lot of short stories, all rejected. The whole process was labor-intensive, from typing to return envelopes to postcards signifying arrival, to finding out months later that magazines had closed or moved without a forwarding address or weren't interested in what I had to sell. Then I decided whether to rewrite the stories or press on. (That last aspect hasn't changed.)

I have a lot of old boxes. - 2010.