Hi, I'm Scott. I'm from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I recently experienced a job loss and thought it was an alarm going off, that I needed a change in my life so I started looking at writing a book. My background is social worker. I'm hard-of-hearing/deaf and I'm fluent in American Sign Language in addition to using a hearing aid (which amplifies EVERYTHING!!) and glasses so I'm part cyborg, I guess? I worked for 25 years supporting people with severe disabilities (couldn't feed themselves or toilet themselves for example) and it just got overwhelming this year so time for a change. I've worked with children and adults and I currently deliver newspapers in the early a.m. hours. I own four rental properties in Winnipeg with a business partner, we're in the process of selling one now. So....my interests. I have been toying for many years with several subjects. Can't seem to get started though.... I have a friend that has always wanted to write a fictional crime empire type novel, the type that goes on and on with various characters. Considering how large he wants it to become I sort of think it may end up becoming a thieve's world type of series where several writers contribute to each book. Or maybe it will just be he and I. Who knows - the fates have conspired to keep us apart. I personally want to write something that will point child abuse investigators in the direction of being more proactive in finding abuse and preventing it from becoming worse. All I have been able to think of in that direction is some type of x-ray scanner at the entrance/exit of schools that children are required to attend. Two problems - the health risks from showering children with radiation daily and the fact that such a scanner will only find physical signs of abuse like broken bones or severe bruising. It won't show the inner turmoil a child would experience from their caregiver touching them on or near a private area. The rental properties. Every book I have ever seen on the subject is from the perspective of the ACTIVE real estate investor. I am more of the background person who gets the funding from banks and provides it to the active real estate investor that uses it to develop a real estate portfolio. The problem is that dealing with the banks is so boring. I don't want to burn any bridges behind me by writing something on the nose like, "GIVE ME THE MONEY!!!!!" It is a pain in the ass to go through 3 or 4 or 5 interviews with one person proving that you have the income to do this. Pay stubs, investment statements, property tax statements, lease agreements.....and of course, none of that paper is in the same place.... I'm hard-of-hearing/deaf so a book about finances for people with disabilities. There doesn't seem to be anything like that out there right now. A lot of the books treat disability like something that happens to the reader that s/he should be prepared for such as by having disability insurance. Well....what about the people that are starting out as disabled? What are they supposed to do? Very little if any information on that topic out there. Most of the people I know with disabilities have had huge struggles especially if they don't have family support. My writing process....I tend to write things out in long hand as a first draft and then I type it up later (2nd draft), print it out and let it sit, then I re-read it and go over it with a red pen. Repeat the process. My big problem is I end up with like four paragraphs out of something that was 10 pages long after this. What am I doing wrong???? Bah....I know, keep trying. So....long enough. I've read some things in here and I've posted some things too.
