My first memories of storytelling were from the Superfriends cartoon show Saturday Mornings, reading comic books around the age of 8. Saturday nights I would watch Star Trek the Original series and the Planet of the Apes movies and TV series with my dad. I started writing one-page stories about the characters I watched and read about. They of course were not incredibly detailed and I am sure lots of misspelling.
My dad would write many stories mostly space and western. I would watch the westerns on TV and read my dad’s stories. I even remember writing something about a ghost cowboy and Apache warriors. But Planet of the Apes and Star Trek kept calling. I watched my dad write many stories and I read a lot of them. My dad bought me a box full of writing supplies and set me up a small table next to his desk where we would both write.
My first attempt at a serious story telling was an 8-part story. Legend of the Ape Men parts 1 thru 8. My creative mind was just beginning. I drew small pictures (Not very good mind you) of Ape Men with ray guns and individual saucer shaped ships. They fought the humans referred to as rebels and for some reason all rebels had spotlights on their helmets. My dad would keep giving me advice about what to change after each time he read them.
He told me to focus on one story at a time. (A fact that I never did and to this day do not practice.) I did though heed his words on rewriting things over and over. Removing and adding. Perfecting the story. Once I started that, it got even more addictive to me. I would read my Saturday morning comic books that my dad bought me and then I would go to the table by my dad’s desk and write. Many times, getting new ideas from what I had read. I started writing during the week as well. I would get picked on and beat up at school and come home and write. In my stories I always won and often the bullies that beat me up took roles of villains. I could not get enough. I started writing about everything from climbing a tree, railroad tracks and battling aliens and giants. I was hooked. I had control of my stories and could forge them anyway I wanted.