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I suppose my mother's reading to me as a child could be logged on as my first introduction to fiction. Something happened
inbetween where I became involved with the study of history. It was after I got my Ph.D. in history (1985) when I turned to
fiction.
My first and only live fiction teacher was, and remains, Ms. Ardath Mayhar. While we have never met in person, I began my
study with her through the Writer's Digest fiction writing program. My first published short story - "Leaving" which was published
and can be read on this website - was developed under Ardath's instruction. She continues to advise and support my literary
efforts. To learn more about her and her extensive list of writings, click on the link below.
The only other writing course that I've taken was the famous/infamous Robert McKee and his screenplay writing seminar. To
learn more about Mr. McKee's excellent, never-a-dull-moment story seminar click on the link below.
Beyond these "formal" teachers, everthing I read, experience, and all the people I meet have been my teachers. And among the
people I met were my students. In 1968, I started teaching as a teaching assistant in the History Department of the University
of Hawaii. Later, in Taiwan, I taught my first English class at the Buddhist monastery that I lived in for a year. Twenty
years later, I was teaching as a Associate Professor of English at Soochow Unversity in Taiwan. During those five years (1992-97)
my main courses were creative writing, genre fiction (science fiction), and world civilizations.
| The Huayen Buddhist Academy, Taipei; circa. 1976-7 |
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| My first group of English students - Buddhist nuns |
| 20 years later! |
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| Soochow University (Dongwu Daxue) Taiwan. One of my Creative Writing classes. |
Learn more about Ardath Mayhar
Learn more about Robert McKee's Story Seminar
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