I realized recently that writing has always been my way of coping, or escaping. In my teens it was songs; in my 20s it was poems; now it is stories. It occurs to me the reason for the evolution. Songs are quick escapes, fast and loud but brief. The angry refuge of an angst ridden boy. I returned quickly to a world with problems solved by tv movies or half hour sitcoms. In my 20s I need more time. Poems can take hours or days to find content in. I was still a boy but with alcohol and a college degree. Stories now, offer me escapes for months or years, diving in to different worlds or times or dimensions; visiting a number of people and creatures and animals that all have the personalities I need at the time. It is not merely an escape from a bully or a high school crush, it's a place to live when the weight of the world feels too hard to carry. The friends in my stories help bear the burden. They give me the advice and guidance I know I need but am maybe too scared to take myself. But they remind me and persist in pushing me to bettering myself and my surroundings. And one day I hope they help other readers find comfort or adventure or even love in the places to which I've taken them.
If I've made any mistakes, if there are typos and grammar errors, if my run-ons are too long I apologize. For as I said before. I've escaped from this world and where I reside now has no time or space for rules.