About JasonScyte

 See my Member Profile

   I came to Northern Virginia on New Year's Eve, just when Y2K was to go into effect, and lived on the streets of Springfield, VA and Washington, D.C. for several months. I spent 90 days in the Loudoun County jail for stealing a bottle of wine and later spent eight weeks in Columbia Hospital to participate in a drug study for paranoid shizophrenia. I suffered serious bouts of paranoia and depression accompanied by hallucinations and delusions. (Love your suit.)

   While I can really be way out there, I try to keep a low profile because I'm not the most sociable guy in the world--It depends on the mood I'm in. For the last year, I've been in a good temper and I have taken on the dauting task of working three jobs. I turtor English at Northern Virginia Community College in Sterling, VA, and I deliver pizzas for Dominoes at night. I also pass out food samples at Costco. And I still have enough time to do my laundry and write stuff that gives me pleasure, like what I'm writing right now.

   In the past six months, I've taken up a great interest in writing about writing: how to get started, freewriting, overcoming writer's block, stimulating ideas, etc. Writing is my first love, reading is second. I'd rather write than read, but one can't stress enough the importance of reading voraciusly if one wants to a writer. Students ask me: What do I have to do to improve my writing? I say, practice, practice, practice, and read a lot. Then they act as if I've sentenced them to a deep, dark dungeon, and I guess in a way I have, because writing isn't just a fun thing to do, if you're honest with yourself. You're going to run across some pain, unpleasant memories, bad ideas, and sometimes just plain hard work.

   I am a Viet Nam veteran, a former Mormon, a journalist, a fast foot ne're do well from the 80s and 90s, a failed Internet entrepreneur, and a former basketball star in my own backyard. I hope you'll read what I have to say, because I believe I can pass along some useful information about topics, especially in the writing field. I do have sleep apnea, which I'm in the process of  correcting, I hope, so I don't really wake up until five or six in the evening even though I might get out of bed at 8 o'clock in the morning. I do tend to stay up all hours of the night. I wish I could see my students at 10 p.m. instead of 10 a.m. becajuse I'm a lot sharper then.

   In conclusion, I could use a writing tip. How do I avoid using the word "because" so much? Life is such a cause and effect arrangement I guess it's just naural to use that word a lot. Because I enjoy writing so much, I hate to let you go, but I don't want to scare you off with some lengthy piece that may bore you silly.

Thanks for reading,

JasonScyte

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Location:

United States

Primary occupation:

English tutor/pizza delivery

Dream occupation:

Writer

Hometown:

Kinston, NC

Schools attended:

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

I like:

Readubg, writing, sports, computers, photography

Favorite writers:

Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, Bob Dylan, Dan Brown

Favorite books:

Moll Flanders, The Awakening, Islands in the Stream, DaVinci Code

Favorite newspapers:

Washington Post, Durham Morning Herald

Favorite magazines:

Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, Esquire, Playboy, Stuff

Favorite music:

80s Rock 'N Roll

Favorite movies:

Jaws, When a Stranger Calls, Terminator, True Lies, Predator Vs. Alien

Favorite TV shows:

Nancy Grace, Today Show, CSI, X-Files, Star Trek, Young & the Restless

Favorite teams:

North Carolina Tar Heels, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Carolina Panthers

Favorite quote:

There is more to this world than is dreampt of your philosophy, Horatio

Gender:

Male

Religion:

Christian