As one goes through life, adventures happen. Good, bad, or mediocre. It is what we do with them that matters. As long as we are able to take a breath, life is experienced.
My name is Edmond P. DeRousse. I have authored and published to date 8 books. I write family friendly fiction with humor and history and write and produce videos for my You-tube channel. The intent of these BLOGS is to invite you into my writing world. I entered that world as a senior citizen. Through these blogs I hope to shed some light on ups and downs of that world. It is, after all, an adventure.
You don’t have to be rich and famous to have adventures.
My past life prepared me for being a senior. As a youth in formative years, I climbed trees, chased dogs, rode my bike at breakneck speed, played cowboys and Indians, practiced diving under my classroom desk to hide from a mushroom cloud, kissed a girl, drank a beer, danced, drove a car fast and much more. O yes studied!
In my working years, I learned responsibility, planning, managing, caring, nurturing, taking charge, commitment, taking and giving orders.
To keep fit and active I have discovered exercise. I am in my 70s now and have adopted Dick Van Dyke’s exercise strategy as my goal. Dick Van Dyke when interviewed about exercising into his 90s had this to say about it. ” In my 30s I did it to look good. In my 50s I did it to stay fit. In my 70s I did it to stay healthy. Now in my 90s I do it to stay out of assisted living.”
I’m now retired and fortunate enough to celebrate living through my adventures. In my seven decades on this planet, I have had many adventures. From 1968 to today, I have had nearly forty mailing addresses. That in itself creates the opportunity for many adventures.
My writing is an exercise in celebrating life. And like many people, I had thought about writing a book. That thought, though, lived with me for about twenty years before I actually put anything on paper in my late 50s. I even had a title for my 1st book, The Autobiography of a Great Man. I expected Stephen Spielberg to offer me millions for the privilege to make his movie version.
Does that sound familiar?
But I realized those adventures I imagined had not happened and most likely were not likely to happen. Out of frustration, my dream of writing a book was put on hold for a while. I still wanted to write a book; I just didn’t know what to write about or how to get started.
Then one day, a life adventure happened that turned out to be the beginning of my writing career. I told friends and family about the adventure and realized I just wrote a short story. I only had to put it on paper. (Yes, I said paper. I’m an old guy intimated by the computer.) I grabbed a pencil and started writing. A funny thing happened. After the story was written, I could not stop my hand. It kept on writing other stories. Many of them I had voiced over the years. They were now coming out of my hand and onto the paper. Names were changed to protect the innocent and or guilty. By the time my hand stopped, it seemed as if there were enough words for a book. Writing, now, has become a passion.
Life adventures – to brain – to hand – to paper- to book – to publisher. Sounds easier than actuality. So how does one turn words into published works? There are many ways. Look for a series of blogs I am calling “So You Want To Write A Book” on this website discussing the writing process, publishing process, marketing and selling process, and even discussing the positives and negatives of the writing culture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXIjsyOnpRo&t=7s
who I am
In the next BLOG, it all about “Writing it”.
Edmond P. DeRousse, Author
Common Man Adventures
You Don’t Have To Be Rich And Famous To Have Adventures
