I loved writing ever since I was a kid. I think I begin writing fiction sometime beginning in elementary school. I do remember taking my short stories to Junior High and reading them to my friends in the cafeteria while we waited for school to start. Most of the stories I wrote were lame horror and dark fantasy stories based upon a steady diet of comic books, television, and movies from growing up in the Sixties and Seventies. I continued to write sporadically from a teenager to an adult over the years, simply for personal enjoyment, publishing nothing.
Really, when I write a book, I’m the only one I have to please.
— Elmore Leonard
In the mid-Nineties, I had the fortune of being published for the first time as a non-fiction writer. I was the managing editor of monthly magazine for a local Christian non-profit organization with international reach. I routinely wrote op-ed pieces, but mostly articles about Christian faith and living. Over a short two years, I might have had 24 to 30 articles published. No, I did not get paid for this.
Shortly after the turn of the century, while finding a renewed interest in the music of my youth, I created a music review site, Dangerdog Music Reviews, and began writing non-fiction reviews of hard rock and heavy metal. Twelve years and still going strong, I have about 400 visitors each day, and over the years I’ve published more than 3,600 articles. No, I don’t get paid for this either. Hmm. Seems to be a pattern developing here.
Around that same time, I began revisiting my fiction writing. Mostly, I write in the genres of crime fiction, mystery, and fantasy, all with overtones of humor and satire, for adults and teen readers. Swimming in my imagination, I have many tales to tell.
It if sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.
— Elmore Leonard
While my writing has advanced in spurts and sputters over the last 20 years, I continue to write for the love of writing, yet with the desire to be published commercially. Currently, I self-publish via my web site, CraigHartranft.net, but mostly story ideas and starts and, hopefully soon, some short stories.
As our lives can be, my writing life is also a work in progress. Thanks for stopping by for a visit; I hope you enjoy the writing and the ride.
Easy reading is the product of hard writing, some teacher say, and it’s true.
— Stephen King
Disclaimers/Legal
Unfortunately, legal disclaimers are a fact of life, especially for writers in the social media age. Ergo, the following are included by necessity, and so you don’t sue me.
The Disclaimers: Regarding Works of Fiction or Non-Fiction:
- Regarding Non-fiction (op-ed, satire, humor, et al): The views and opinions expressed on CraigHartranft.net are entirely my own (or those of any contributing editor) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any entity or person referred to in any article, and is not intended to malign any specific individual, group, religion, ethnicity, club, secular or religious company or organization. Any articles of humor, including satire and parody, that may or may not specifically reference persons, living or dead, are intended to be only parody, satire or humor. That is to say, nothing posted is libel, slander, or hate speech. Even if you, the reader, may think otherwise.
- Regarding Works of Fiction: Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Case Law References:
New York Times v Isaaks, Texas Supreme Court, 03.09.2004 https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-supreme-court/1244317.html
Hustler Magazine v Falwell, United States Supreme Court, 24.02.1988Â https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/485/46.html
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (Fall, 2004), The News Media & The Law: Avoiding Libel in Satire. Retrieved from: https://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/news-media-law/news-media-and-law-fall-2004/avoiding-libel-satire
Summary: If you think an article or a story is about you, someone you know, or some organization to which you belong, when it does not specifically mention you, you are probably mistaken, extremely paranoid, or simply narcissistic.