Who accounts for all the Whys and Why Nots?

When I was a student I always liked it whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to do. Without hesitation I would tell them that I wanted to be a writer. Then I would allow the necessary pause as they went through the range of emotions that was becoming a ritual response. First there was the open mouthed gaze, then the uplifted eyebrow while they contemplated whether or not I was serious, then came the smile and nervous laugh, sometimes followed by an "oh, you really got me" kind of clap. It was fun at parties.

I finished a degree in English followed by a diploma in Marketing. I managed to get a start as a marketing writer with a sort of start-up software company. 1998. Hey it made sense then. Who knew? When this company started to invent fake employees with fake voice mails to impress investors I decided to move on. Nonetheless I managed to find work as a business writer for a number of larger companies. My assignments were mostly writing business letters and presentations. At first it felt cool when one of my letters got approved. My stuff would be read by all kinds of people all over the place. Then came the frustration of answering phone calls for the sales guy chosen to sign the bottom of the letter. I finally started to return to stories that had sat on the shelf for far too long. I was fortunate enough to see one of my short stories published by Canadian online magazine Ascent Aspirations. David Fraser is that rare breed of editor that not only prefers the work of new writers, but also doesn't mind a story with a bit of an edge. A lot of publishers prefer to stick with the safer, more traditional stories and are reluctant to publish a story that is more creative. As a result, a lot of aspiring Canadian writers have resorted to different measures to express themselves. I recently discovered that one of my former classmates, also a writer, had opted to pose nude online. I briefly weighed this option, but decided instead to start a blog. Non nude... of course.