Many months of deliberation have expired, and finally the Electronic Writer project is starting to move forward. I have been watching the traffic and people are visiting the Website. They are clicking through the pages. We are starting to gain some momentum.

After a couple of weeks of tinkering, I finally have the Navigation in the right places–at least, I think so. If you have differing opinions, please tell me. The bulletin board will be completed and available sometime today, so register and tell me in the Comments section.

Now that the foundation has been poured, and the walls of the structure has been built, I get to start working on the content. I have already created much of the stuff. You learn so much more when you teach something, and under that premise I have always been trying to teach everything–as a back-handed way to get access to more of the information myself.

In my early 20’s, I composed a poetry-writing course for my own edification. The essay writing information is from a recent English 1a course that I taught at a community college. The fiction writing information is also a spin off of several attempts at teaching fiction writing, in an effort to learn the craft better myself.

I apologize, in advance, because my politics will enter the dialog. I will, however, always make my politics evident and allow you to decide how you want to deal with them. You do not have to agree with me, nor do you have to like my politics. My opinions and views, however, are informed and chosen. None of what I believe have been simply handed to me by peers, parents, church, or instructors. If you have a compelling argument, and it passes my own fact-checking process, perhaps you can change my opinion. I am, after all, always in search of the Truth, or truths, or a better version of the truth . . . .

I expect that if you engage in a dialog, that you respect the opinions of others. Disagreement is a good thing. Destructiveness is not acceptable. My term for it is dissonance. We are all happily NOT agreeing, not trying to break each other down, and yet fully committed to forwarding our own agendas–because we believe they are correct (otherwise why would you believe it?).

Intolerance will not be permitted.

Roland Barthes composed a great theory about language that he called “Joissance”–a derivative of the French word for “playing.” In his theory, he argues that language and the usage of language, and the act of composing sentences and better ways of saying something is a FUN process. Even engaging in the dialog about the usage of language is a FUN, playful process.

While it may be a bit obscure, I have clung to this theory since my first read of it. I believe that language is fun, writing is fun, talking about language is fun, talking about writing is fun, and that it is a dream job to spend the day creating a sentence, and then tinkering with it to get it to say what you wanted it to say better, more descriptively, more succinctly, more accurately, etc.

So, Roland Barthes’ theory will prevail in Electronic Writer. Have fun with this place, and have fun with your writing. More importantly, have fun with the other writers who are here to do the same.