Before replying I wanted to repay the compliment by looking properly at some of your posts, especially ‘Growing apart’. The title says it. Though my experience was very different – more a case of being like 15 when I was 25 (God knows what I would have done with a kid at any point) − I can easily relate to things like your struggle to break free of the closed circuit of your upbringing. So many pressures to keep you in the bucket. I cut dead everyone I went to school with, worked on losing my accent, started reading Colin Wilson (old reference) and listening to Beethoven (older still), all things things my friends (not that I had friends) were not doing, and didn’t want to understand. Your growing pains were at least interesting – the backdrop to mine was just meh. Hope you’re planning to do a lot more of the personal stuff: the whole Jamaican period, being shot at (I’m guessing the two might be linked?), the music thing. Seems you are indeed pretty famous in a parallel existence. As for not writing well, you probably know that’s nonsense. I’m not saying a good editor couldn’t tighten it up, but there’s never been a writer of whom that couldn’t be said. The important thing is it’s real and alive and experienced, and this is presumably what people are picking up on. One Curie might have been a fluke, but two, in no time ...
Thanks for the tips about groups I should be checking out, given my “natural talent for classical prose” (lol). You clearly have an appetite for the ins and outs of the workings of the site that I could never match. Keen as I am to interact and play a full part, I’ll always be a “here’s what happens in the first movement of this symphony" typa guy, preferring just to put together posts some people might appreciate. The amount of manipulation that goes on on the site is a bit dispiriting, I won’t lie, but I’ve made a decision to ignore it, or at least not let it discourage me. Trying to get a tiny bit of visibility before setting out, though I think I’m about ready to do my introduceyourself thing. Interested in the possibility of becoming a @steemiteditor. I flatter myself I have the chops, can find the time, and am just about to get a good wodge of STEEM to power up (you need 500SP). At least I was. Now the damn thing has mooned while the BNB I was going to buy it with hasn’t moved as I’d hoped ahead of the token burn so I’ll wait a bit. Need to get 20 posts under my belt to be considered anyway, so no rush.
One last thing. Would you connect with me on LinkedIn? I’m going for the 500+, which might help me get work. Found you on there (500+ tick!), but because I’m not Premium I can’t message you an invite.
I’ll be looking out for your stuff. Thanks again for the leads and encouragement and best of luck with everything. You pretty much rock.