Twice a year my friends and I gather in the desert for a celebration. We named this gathering “The Perversion”. This past weekend was the 10th bi-annual (I think). Really, the gathering has nothing to do with being perverted, but instead is more about bringing friends together who have moved away or we don’t have time to see because our lives have gotten so busy. People dress up in costumes (hence the name), we make tacos, we have a huge campfire, and we usually accomplish at least one major adventure (climbing, hiking, canyoneering). Great fun is had by all.

This year, I took the opportunity to pitch my idea of creating my own magazine to the group. There were about 30 people there that I could pitch it to. We also were all drinking beer, so it took away some of the edge of putting my idea out on the open market. I didn’t pitch it to all, but a select few who I thought would be interested.

Over the last year, I have hesitated to pitch my idea to too many people. Sometimes people who first hear of it are really excited about it. Other times, they are not. Actually most the time they are not. So many people don’t have the urge to write and don’t necessarily understand why anyone would want to write for fun. And that is before you get to the publishing part. Some people like to write, but putting their ideas on the internet is “dumb”. Writing, for most, is a skill they use at work, don’t particularly like and do not care to do on their free time. I think they are insane. This blog is literally an outlet for me when I feel the urge to write. My urge comes and goes throughout the year, as you can probably tell by my post history, but it always comes back, and I am always excited about writing.

At the perversion, I found out that not all people hate writing. I spoke with three people who were particularly excited about the magazine: Steve, Bonnie and Aaron. Steve shares the same passion I do for writing. He spends free time daily writing ideas down. He also shares my want to get his ideas out in the world. Steve had several article ideas that were ready for creation. Bonnie is a journalism major and wants to write. And Aaron, although maybe the least enthusiastic, is probably the most valuable person I talked to. He is a longtime editor for pretty big newspapers. He currently works for the Sacramento Bee. His lack of enthusiasm was no doubt a result of the fact that he edits for a living.

By no means do these additions to my writing team guarantee the success of the Magazine. But at least now I am on my way to getting a group that can provide some content and get the publication off the ground. Aaron will help make sure that the content is good. I have two more writers too, that makes seven total now. Now we just need to make this passion tangible.

Good Luck to Us!

_M