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New sparks in the fire...

Dreamhand

Troubadour
My name is Dave Robison... aka “Dreamhand”. After prancing all over the forums for the last few days, it seems like the courteous thing to do would be to introduce myself to my new Mythic Scribe brethren (and sisteren...?).

I started writing adaptations of “Curious George” stories on my mother’s Smith-Corona typewriter when I was eight or nine years old. Forty years later, I’m still utterly smitten by tales and stories, both hearing them and telling them.

When I went to college, I got a theater degree in order to pursue the possibility of telling stories for fun and profit. It was certainly fun, but the profit was a more challenging prospect. Destitute and frantic to secure a more marketable skill set, I returned to college and secured something resembling a graphic design degree (art being just another form of storytelling). This led to jobs in small print shops in the late 80’s, just as they were switching to those new computer things (anyone remember the Mac SE-30?).

I was young and eager so I learned the language of digital magic and — over the decades — have skipped, tripped and stumbled my way into a position as a web applications developer.

But the stories are always there... in movie theaters (LOVE movies in movie theaters), in books (e-books, paper books, who CARES?), and (lately) in my iPad.

A few years back, my wife and I realized that the digital age had made audio production a breeze, so we created a non-profit radio theater company. In three years we produced over 40 hours of original episodic audio drama gold and engaged over 200 volunteers in every aspect of the process, from writing, to directing, to post production. Burn-out was high, however (it was like having two jobs but only one of them paid), and we had to step away in the name of sanity and our marriage.

Like so many of you, I’ve flirted with writing, dabbled with writing, studied writing... but never actually ‘screwed my courage to the sticking place’ and committed to actually FINISHING anything (let alone submitting it). That’s changing. Why? Because the world is changing. Publication is changing. And I’m changing along with it. The age of digital media and digital communities has unleashed a whole new paradigm of communication and expression. The ease of distribution means you can get your story into ANYONE’S hands for nearly nothing.

It’s no longer a matter of “Can you be published?”... now it’s “Can you get anyone to hear you over the din of all the other noise?” That’s a very different proposition from the old days... more organic, more fluid, more responsive. I find that incredibly exciting and I want to be a part of it.

So I’ll be posting stories in the Showcase, some of which will be audio scripts for possible podcasts. I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s feedback and engaging with this remarkable community. Thanks for the chance to play in your sandbox for a while! :)
 

Ghost

Inkling
A few years back, my wife and I realized that the digital age had made audio production a breeze, so we created a non-profit radio theater company. In three years we produced over 40 hours of original episodic audio drama gold and engaged over 200 volunteers in every aspect of the process, from writing, to directing, to post production.

That sounds really interesting. I don't know if it's similar, but I really enjoy old time radio shows like Suspense and the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I like that it's fast like watching a TV show but I'm able to use my imagination like reading a book.

I haven't screwed my courage yet either, but it actually sounds like a good thing when I put it that way...

Welcome to the forum! :)
 

Dreamhand

Troubadour
Thanks Ouroboros! The radio theater thing was very much like the old time radio dramas. We did full-cast productions complete with live AND prerecorded sound effects. There's an old myspace page that still has a couple of episodes up there... it's just a very narrow slice of what we did, but it'll give you a taste of the productions we were putting out there:

Rabbit Hole Radio Theatre | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos

As for "screwing your courage"... I don't think Lady Macbeth had THAT in mind when she gave her husband that line, but yeah... I see what you mean. ;)
 

Dreamhand

Troubadour
Oh god... that high pitched whirling sound? That's Shakespeare spinning in his grave (the guffaws of laughter are all mine).
 

Legendary Sidekick

The HAM'ster
Moderator
Welcome!

Looks like you and your wife had some fun with Rabbithole Radio. Totally understand the burn-out thing... my brother and I tried getting an indie game project off the ground, but it was too hard to depend on other people's talents. The nice thing about writing is that you don't need other people to create a compete book, and it can be done with little or no expense (other than time). Best of luck to you!

Screw courage!
 

Dreamhand

Troubadour
Thanks Terry! It's been great fun so far. This is the first online writing community I've joined and I've enjoyed the dialog and the diversity of the culture. With things changing so rapidly in the industry, I think it's important we (as writers) try to keep a finger on the pulse and stay open to new ideas... this is a great place to start.
 
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