A Journalist's Email

How's that for a thoughtful, reflective title? (See thoughtful, reflective sidebar to your left.)

I knew this day would come as a writer. It had to. One cannot write both journalism and fiction without realising it. Those who take English at the same time often struggle with it more. Depending on your point of view, it can be either a hurdle recently crossed or a terrible, terrible set-back in one's development. Or both.

I've just come to the realisation that I'm writing emails in CP Style.

Dante and the Christmas Season

Reports out of Italy suggest literary historians have found an additional section of Dante's Inferno.

Early examinations by leading philosophers from Oxford University tell of a newly-discovered "tenth circle of Hell."

Rumours indicate that it may be a special circle of Hell reserved for the scores of every jazz re-interpretation of "Jingle Bells" ever created, where the pages are constantly photocopied again and again and again, never deteriorating.  The photocopier never runs out of ink, but is slightly mis-aligned so that all the pages have at least two bars cut off.

What Is This!?: An Introduction of Sorts

So you've stumbled across the blog.

Maybe your cursor is already moving to the "Back" button. Maybe you're about to click "Next Blog". Go on, do it. Honestly, if you didn't come here with a reason, you're unlikely to want to stick around long.

This blog is not a motorcycle blog. If you thought that, the little red "X" in the top right corner is where you need to go.

I don't drive a motorcycle, I likely never will. For one, I'm just not made for it. I'm 6'4"-ish and not really built for careening through traffic unprotected. That, combined with my innate clumsiness seems a bad combination. Secondly, despite the fact that I have linebacker's shoulders (but I don't play football, either), a large beard, long hair and occasionally wear sunglasses, I have no desire to drive a motorcycle.

So why I have I titled this blog this way? Well, "Dylan's Creative Writing Blog" seemed a little too grade-seven-English for me. The best part of the blog's title is that I haven't fully figured it out yet. Beyond the obvious impressions, I am still thinking about it.

That's what this blog is for: thinking. There won't be much high philosophy on this blog, although I am a King's student so Dante may make the odd appearance. It's not a flimsy-flamsy exploration of creativity, either--I'm not really interested in what inspires me or you; stories come from nothing or a lot of coffee, depending on your preference for the latter (I don't drink it--go figure: a student, journalist, and writer who doesn't drink coffee, motorcycle or play football). But the blog might discuss just about anything on any day. It is a place for exploration and for "thought" in the broader sense of wonderment about things.

This isn't a news blog or a diary. It's a creative blog. There will be the odd piece of fiction or short snippet thrown out here. There will be essays. There will be long rants because I can't help myself. This is a place to link topics to each other, to muse, to meditate.

Somewhere within all this is community. You can comment on any story. There's an open discussion page where you can add your own loud noises. You can contribute and I'll be happy to publish a longer piece from anyone else (I am a journalist, after all). Conversation is essential to this whole project. It might give me some feedback (always appreciated). It might add a new dimension to an idea. It might just stop me from falling in love with my own voice (a King's tradition since the mid-19th century). Your thoughts enhance what passes for my thoughts. What will that create? I don't know.

But we're going to find out.