Some time in 1984, my third grade teacher, Mrs. Hixon told me to “Write more.” At the time I thought she meant the assignment I’d turned in wasn’t long enough. She soon explained that she liked my writing and thought I was good at it. I’ve been writing more ever since.
I attended the Young Author’s conference three times while in grade school, but that’s not saying much. Really, it seemed anyone who turned in a story seemed eligible to go.
In high school, I wrote a series of newsletters about racism under the name ‘Portnoy’. They ended up getting passed out all around Western Washington and at least one got as far as Germany. I know this because I got responses mailed to me. I wouldn’t call it ‘fan mail’. Most of it was threatening. At one point three students from Washington High School were suspended for passing the newsletters out. When a liaison officer asked the principal of that high school if he should investigate who wrote it, the principal responded it was ‘obviously a professional writer’.
Also in high school, I wrote for and was involved in the Tacoma Youth Initiative. The idea of the organization was to provide resources for teenagers before they runaway, get addicted to drugs, etc. Unfortunately, they lost their funding and the Youth Initiative collapsed.
Shortly after high school, I quit writing creatively. This lasted for a couple of years, but then I found myself in a drug and alcohol binge that was so incomprehensible that the only way I could make sense of it was to write everything that was happening into my journal every night. This is where the seeds of my book, Ruin Your Life (RYL) really began.
Eventually I pulled myself out of the binge and learned a new motto: ‘Moderation in all things….including moderation’. It wasn’t that I didn’t go out and get blitzed anymore. It was that there were days I didn’t.
In 2001 I started an online column called ‘Ruin Your Life’ at the now defunct Themestream.com. Just as I was building an audience for it, the company (and thus the column) went under. I knew I had more to say and realized with the help of a couple of friends that RYL could be a good book. So this became my on again off again project.
As I continued to work on RYL, I realized it was too extreme and too personal to even consider going the traditional publication route. Inevitably, the Powers That Be would want me to change things or leave out chapters (“Do you really need a chapter telling your readers to go out with teenagers?”) I decided that it would probably be best to find an alternative publication method and in 2007, I did. For more on RYL, click the ‘Ruin Your Life’ tab above.
In addition to Ruin Your Life, I’ve written numerous short stories and a couple of feature screenplays among other things. Some of which, will likely end up on this site.
Okay, if you’ve actually read this far, I’m impressed. Not even I am this interested in me.
If you have any questions or comments or just want to let me know you dropped by, write me at jackcameronis@hotmail.com . Thanks for reading.
-Jack Cameron 2010
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