No, I've got one more question: what first interested you in writing, and have you ever released any writing on, say, some large fiction-publishing website, or in a magazine or published novel or what have you? And what genre do you prefer to write for? Are there any genres you won't?
...well...I guess that's four questions. Meh.
I've liked to write ever since before I was literate. I had a hyperactive imagination as a kid, and I would daydream and make-believe all the time. As I grew up, writing became one of my key means of expressing all that gushing creativity. The actual skill of writing came to me not through instruction, but experience. My parents read to me a great deal when I was very little, and I read on my own endlessly throughout childhood. I also watched a lot of television and movies. All of this input taught me how to write.
As for my published work, there is actually quite a lot of it, but none of it is of the big-deal, "find it in a bookstore" type that you are probably talking about. But, yes, I have been published. My biggest print publication success was several years with my university's student newspaper, where I had a long-running opinion column. Online, my most widely-read work has been at the political blog Daily Kos, by virtue of that website's huge audience. There have been other outlets too, too many to recount. For instance, back when I was GMing online RPGs, I had a website of my own. Sadly, none of this (except the newspaper gig) has earned me any direct dollars.
What genre do I prefer to write in? No surprise, science fiction and fantasy--although I could talk at great length about my sentiments on those genres and their status in this day and age. In addition to science fiction and fantasy, I am comfortable in nearly any genre--and most media. By "media" I'm talking about forms other than straight prose. To name just a few examples: Back in my fanfiction days, I wrote teleplays for The Simpsons. Back in high school, I wrote, directed, and acted in a stage play. Nowadays I keep an online journal, I write letters, and of course I hop around the message boards. I write formal essays, and, more frequently, informal ones. I have even undertaken an epic poem--notwithstanding any complaints raised by Daniel Krispin on grounds of what constitutes an epic poem.
Which brings me to your final question: The only genre that I absolutely would rule out is romance. I used to say that of mystery too, but now I am ambivalent about that genre, and in any case I haven't worked in it. In addition to my ban on romance, I have very little interest in genres such as horror, thriller, western, romantic comedy, mystery, and probably a few others I can't recall. I wouldn't
not work in these, but, to date, I have not yet done so.
