I always take the time during an anniversary issue to reflect on the time the Magazine came to be. But this time around, I want to talk about my first-ever short story that landed in issue #1 of The World of Myth Magazine and how Terry D. Scheerer, a fairly new friend, agreed to not only edit but also contribute to this new thing called an e-Zine, and mentored me without me even realizing it at first.
It was around that time I decided to move away from comics, not because I did not love them any less, but because I wanted to expand my knowledge of writing.
When Terry and I first became friends, and before I had the idea to make the magazine, we worked at a small hospital. He worked in the ICU, and at the time, I was in the Medical Surgical Department. So we would chat about writing on breaks and lunch and share stories in our downtime. I remember him telling me that comic book scripts were so different from writing a short story: the words, the format, the tenses. That my stories were very similar to movie scripts in that respect, and he divulged that he was too prideful to create something whose outcome rested in other people's hands and not his alone.
Terry went on to explain that writing either a movie or comic book script required other people to interpret your words into a visual, and if it was done poorly, despite how good it was, it would come across as lackluster at best. I never thought of it that way. We all know my story about how I became a writer, so I will not bore you with that, but I learned to write in the comic book medium, and never truly thought of venturing outside of said environment to craft something solely on me.
I remember I had finished charting my rounds quickly so I could read a story Terry had printed out for me to enjoy. It was Overhill and Dale, and what an intergalactic adventure. I consumed it quickly, and I recall going back to Terry in the ICU and asking if he had any more stories with those
characters. To my surprise, he said, "No," and explained that his stories were single short stories.
I explained that, being from the world of continual issues from month to month, my brain naturally expected there to be another story, even after the initial story was concluded. He explained that in the literary world, those were serials, continuous short stories that go on for months at a time to finish a single story. It was in that moment that I knew I wanted to write a serial!
I was programmed for long-drawn-out stories, and this serial concept was right up my alley, and I could show how good I was as a writer to my new friend. The first short serial I wrote was a tale called The Wall of Terrance, as an homage to Terry for being my friend and teaching me the basics about writing short stories before I began. By the way, if you are wondering, here is a fun fact: Terry's legal name was Terrance Wall.
The Wall of Terrance was a fantasy quest where an old wizard, his apprentice, a former pupil, and a disgraced rightful hero gather allies to stop a dragon-led invasion, while the rotten king waits behind a wall that will not save him. I had laid so much foundation in that first story that it was going to last for years. I remember handing it to Terry for editing, and he tore it to shreds. Error after error, I won't lie, I did wonder if it was a personal attack on me and even caused me to question my ability to write.
But I refused to give up, and I revised where I was told that it did not make sense and corrected grammar and spelling all the way up to the day before the launch of issue #1. I emailed it over to Terry to be included in the inaugural issue, and behind the scenes, I was up to chapter three and was developing a new lore for my story.
I wish this were the part where I said that it came out and it was loved worldwide, but the opposite happened. I was accused of borrowing too much from The Lord of the Rings, and I may have unconsciously done so since Return of the King came out that same year. The rejection hurt, but it toughened my skin and caused me to realize that perhaps the fantasy genre was not for me. I would go lick my wounds and would come back the next month with a small horror tale called Foresight, while issue #1 was the birth of my first short story, and yes, I abandoned the story after the mass rejection. Issue #2 was when I learned where my creative lane began.
Okay, I hope that everyone enjoys this anniversary issue of The World of Myth Magazine and I will see you all next month!
With respect to you all!
David K. Montoya Founder of The World of Myth Magazine And Other Stuff Too.
It was around that time I decided to move away from comics, not because I did not love them any less, but because I wanted to expand my knowledge of writing.
When Terry and I first became friends, and before I had the idea to make the magazine, we worked at a small hospital. He worked in the ICU, and at the time, I was in the Medical Surgical Department. So we would chat about writing on breaks and lunch and share stories in our downtime. I remember him telling me that comic book scripts were so different from writing a short story: the words, the format, the tenses. That my stories were very similar to movie scripts in that respect, and he divulged that he was too prideful to create something whose outcome rested in other people's hands and not his alone.
Terry went on to explain that writing either a movie or comic book script required other people to interpret your words into a visual, and if it was done poorly, despite how good it was, it would come across as lackluster at best. I never thought of it that way. We all know my story about how I became a writer, so I will not bore you with that, but I learned to write in the comic book medium, and never truly thought of venturing outside of said environment to craft something solely on me.
I remember I had finished charting my rounds quickly so I could read a story Terry had printed out for me to enjoy. It was Overhill and Dale, and what an intergalactic adventure. I consumed it quickly, and I recall going back to Terry in the ICU and asking if he had any more stories with those characters. To my surprise, he said, "No," and explained that his stories were single short stories.
I explained that, being from the world of continual issues from month to month, my brain naturally expected there to be another story, even after the initial story was concluded. He explained that in the literary world, those were serials, continuous short stories that go on for months at a time to finish a single story. It was in that moment that I knew I wanted to write a serial!
I was programmed for long-drawn-out stories, and this serial concept was right up my alley, and I could show how good I was as a writer to my new friend. The first short serial I wrote was a tale called The Wall of Terrance, as an homage to Terry for being my friend and teaching me the basics about writing short stories before I began. By the way, if you are wondering, here is a fun fact: Terry's legal name was Terrance Wall.
The Wall of Terrance was a fantasy quest where an old wizard, his apprentice, a former pupil, and a disgraced rightful hero gather allies to stop a dragon-led invasion, while the rotten king waits behind a wall that will not save him. I had laid so much foundation in that first story that it was going to last for years. I remember handing it to Terry for editing, and he tore it to shreds. Error after error, I won't lie, I did wonder if it was a personal attack on me and even caused me to question my ability to write.
But I refused to give up, and I revised where I was told that it did not make sense and corrected grammar and spelling all the way up to the day before the launch of issue #1. I emailed it over to Terry to be included in the inaugural issue, and behind the scenes, I was up to chapter three and was developing a new lore for my story.
I wish this were the part where I said that it came out and it was loved worldwide, but the opposite happened. I was accused of borrowing too much from The Lord of the Rings, and I may have unconsciously done so since Return of the King came out that same year. The rejection hurt, but it toughened my skin and caused me to realize that perhaps the fantasy genre was not for me. I would go lick my wounds and would come back the next month with a small horror tale called Foresight, while issue #1 was the birth of my first short story, and yes, I abandoned the story after the mass rejection. Issue #2 was when I learned where my creative lane began.
Okay, I hope that everyone enjoys this anniversary issue of The World of Myth Magazine and I will see you all next month!
With respect to you all!
David K. Montoya
Founder of The World of Myth Magazine
And Other Stuff Too.