Member-only story
Writing
How I Accidentally Became A Writer
And published my first novel at age 60
Buckle up readers, we are about to take a ride on the Starlin Time Machine, back to the early 1980s.
Like many people, I have long thought it would be cool to write a novel. As a young man in my early 20s, I decided I would do just that. Considering that the only real hope of getting a book published in the 1980s was taking the traditional publishing route, and I skated through English class with only the most basic grasp of grammar, writing a novel wasn’t the brightest idea I had.
But I have never been one to let ignorance stop me. If I want to do something, I just start and learn as I go. Since I learn best by doing, I got out my typewriter (the only option at the time) and started writing a novel.
My first attempt was a sci-fi/fantasy mashup — I forget the name. I named it after a planet I made up. I didn’t get far. (Although I resurrected the story idea and turned it into a serial short story a couple of years ago. You can read it on Medium if you are brave.)
