Why Don’t I Write About My Military Service?

As a woman Navy vet, who likes to tell “Sea Stories” and who is also a writer, I get asked on a pretty regular basis why I don’t write about my time in the military.

The standard answer is short and simple: Because I write fantasy, not reality.

The real answer is NOT so short and simple:

Because I write fantasy, not reality.

Because I prefer to write for kids and/or the kid inside all of us.

Because it’s one thing to tell a funny story about that time, but another thing to share it in a way that is truly meaningful.

Because I’m afraid my readers would find me much less interesting and engaging than they do my characters.

Because my time in the military was filled with a lot of stupid, much of which was related to my own behavior.

Because memoir is another word for spilling embarrassing secrets.

Because my young life wasn’t nearly as tragic or important as I thought it was at the time.

Because I’d rather not tell you just how many ways a young twenty-something can choose poorly.

And, maybe, because I’m not really ready to go there, yet.

Full disclosure: I have actually written a few things about my time in the United States Navy. So, if you are curious, you can find several such essays in my book, In Case You Didn’t Hear Me the First Time. (Warning: Contains Sailor Talk/Adult Language.)

And now that I’ve said I don’t write about my military service, perhaps, as happened when I said the same thing about Flash Fiction, I might just start.

 

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