“Why Write Fiction
Hi there! Gwen here.
Okay, so Gwen Thames is my pen name — a lovely little anagram of my real name, thank you very much! But after five years, like a job title or military rank, it’s become a large part of my identity. You see, I’m a fiction writer on a platform called Inkitt. Been writing fiction since 2019 — goodness, time flies when you’re having fun, or have a very hectic, busy life — okay, both!
As someone who is pretty antisocial as far as social media goes, you’ll only find me on Inkitt (@GwenThames) and now here on Medium! If you’re a burgeoning writer and are looking for a community of like-minded folks, I highly recommend Inkitt.
As my introduction piece, I wanted to talk about why I write fiction, and as we go along this blogging journey together, I hope to be able to share some tidbits about what I’ve found helpful as I continue to grow and learn myself.
I’ve always loved a good story — adventures being my favorite. I managed a video rental store (one of the last!) at the tail end of high school in the late 1990s, a time when blockbuster hits were about as cool as they could be.
Through school, poetry was my thing, and several of my poems won awards and were published. But, once I left home, life happened, and I didn’t have the time or energy to do much writing anymore. And fiction writing wasn’t even something I entertained. I’d always envisioned writing as a career to be like Kathleen Turner’s character in Romancing the Stone, just without Michael Douglas and Colombian drug lords — deadlines, lots and lots of deadlines! 😎 Did I mention that’s one of my favorite movies?
So, fast forward through a couple of decades of a career in the US Air Force and being blessed with becoming a mother. I’ve since transitioned to a civilian career as an archaeologist, dual hatted as the company’s Office Manager and Collections Laboratory Manager. Again, “life” happened, and by 2019 I was a divorced, single-mom, working my full time job, while also managing my dad’s side business I’d helped open a few years earlier, and had just become a caregiver for my father who’d had two strokes. My stress level was out the roof.
If any of you have looked into personality types, you may have read about Enneagrams. If not, I’ll probably talk about them in another post, so stay tuned… Well, I’m an Enneagram #7, aka “The Enthusiast.” That means when I get stressed out, I avoid facing the issues within and tend to enthusiastically pile more on top. If I’m busy enough, I won’t have time to feel anxiety, right? 🤔 Yeah, right! I’ve tried to manage that better, but I just can’t help it sometimes! 😅
So, in an effort to get my brain elsewhere, I ended up stumbling upon the Chapters Game App and what seemed to be an underground group of people. Most had hidden identities, going by usernames like Mary502 or KarimWrites300. They united as one thing. Writers.
But not the professional ones whose books are in B&N. Not Kathleen Turner with her publisher calling. No, these folks were green, and raw in skill. Some, dare I say, had no skill at all. Yet, their unedited text-message style stories were not only free for the reading, but fun. Their creativity and desire to create was contagious and a lightbulb flickered to life in my mind — what if I started writing my own stories!
My first foray into fiction was “An Expedition of Love,” now titled “The Archaeologist” and the first in my Time Trilogy. Into my third story on Chapters, licensing of user’s stories became an issue, and I did some research, finding that there were other, more visible and copyright-conscious platforms out there! Five years later, I’ve edited “The Archaeologist” at least three times fully, and am beginning a fourth, hopefully less amateurish level edit this time around.
Did I mention Inkitt?? Well, that’s where I’ve spent the last four years learning from my fellow writers and readers, and making writing a large part of my life and identity. I never would have dreamed it to be so!
Now, I’ve never been hell bent on publishing; the goal has always been to let off creative steam and manage stress by allowing myself to escape into fantasy worlds of my own creation. And while that’s still my priority, because life has only gotten even more hectic with my mother’s health and homeschooling a teen, publishing isn’t completely out of the question nowadays. But that’s a discussion for another day.
Do I want to be a full-time writer? I mean, Kathleen Turner’s image of a writer isn’t that far fetched when I’m actually both a writer and archaeologist, right? I wouldn’t turn down a trip to Colombia… 😎
No. I love my less-adventure, more-nerdy career in archaeology and would love to utilize my fancy John’s Hopkins degree in Museum Studies to further that career one day. But there’s nothing that says I can’t have BOTH! I utilize my writing skills in writing reports and exhibits; telling the story of the past. At least I think that’s kinda cool, too!
As for my writing ‘career,’ I now have several books (complete and in progress) published on Inkitt, and have even self-published some under my other pen name. [I may divulge that one day… 😏) And now, I’ve embarked upon Medium, thanks to my friend and fellow author, Donte-Highwater. *If you’re looking for some lighthearted humor, I highly recommend his blog. He also writes fantasy and horror stories. Well, just check out his blog and see for yourself.
But I’ve found that I love helping others grow in their own writing. I have been a judge for a few of the peer-led contests on Inkitt (winning awards in several of those competitions for my writing as well), and also do some editing on the side for fellow Indie authors — did I mention that I like to pile on work as a coping mechanism for stress? 🤨
What I’ve learned from my adventure into the tight-knit and enlightening communities of amateur writers I’ve become part of, is that they’re a bunch of interesting and exciting people, full of creative stories with their own reasons for writing. And they’re not confined, coming from all corners of the Earth to set politics and religious differences aside to focus on their art. Some use these platforms as a springboard to master the craft to eventually traditionally- and/or self-publish. Others are there for the pure joy of expression and couldn’t care less about grammar and spelling. I’ve witnessed people struggling through writing/reading disabilities and language barriers to get their stories out of their hearts and minds. Others, like me, are here for escapism and/or to perfect our writing skills, soaking up advice and tips like a sponge for self-improvement. But every one of us loves to write; it’s part of our souls and taking it away would be like sucking the air out of our lungs.
Thanks for dropping by my blog and I invite you to check out my profile on Inkitt (https://www.inkitt.com/GwenThames). Until next time!
