State of Literary BRATdom in Fiction

I have changed the format considerably, but still want to keep everyone updated on my progress.

Checks in the mail for the Writing Workshop in August. I don't have any idea when I will know something on that one. I'm guessing two to four weeks.

My Screenplay is coming along nicely. We are two thirds through the month and I have about 10,000 words written so far. Although this might seem like I'm behind the curve, I have been adding about 2000 words every two days, so I am doing fine so far. The drop was mostly due to some issues last week. Don't worry, it will be finished on time.

I have also started a new story. It is tentatively called Jameson Special Op for now. I'll tweek the title later. The story is a science fiction piece which deals with a military dependant and his relationship with his father (a Colonel in the Army.) This is the true story, but in the mix the hero must deal with aliens and a situation which he finds himself uniquely qualified for.

This leads me into the relationship between these two topics. There is method to my madness, at least on this occasion. I think there is a remarkable lack of material available for the public about military dependants and our unique struggles and viewpoints. Since I am just getting started in my writing career, I am in a privileged position of being able to tailor my work around these dynamics. So that is what I'm going to become more focused on.

I will not claim that every story or book I write will deal with military dependants, but I will make a concerted effort to include our stories within my stories. There is a risk that this may not be popular, but since when did a BRAT care about not being accepted? I can deal with anything for three years.

If you are interested in some of the things that have been written to date, check out these links:



If you're like me, you look at this list and think that it is kind of sad that so many men, women, and children are underrepresented within our fictional literary world. Oh there are slight mentions where brats play a minor role here or there in other works, but the list of main characters and themes is criminally short. It should be noted that there is an increasing number of non-fiction books which are directed at military families and specifically parents in the military, not to mention autobiographies. But when you cross the line to read a work of fiction, the picking become noticeably slimmer. I can't make others fix it, so I guess I will join the few innovators who are trying to make a difference.

Who are those others? I'm working on a list of the resources which I think warrant mentioning. Hopefully I will have that finished in the next week or so.

Until then, bear with me, and keep reading.