Flint Macwood is a pen-name. I came up with the name when I created a character named, Jacob Flint Macwood. I liked the name so much, I just dropped the Jacob and kept the rest. My birth name is Dale Eldon Szewczyk, my mother almost named me Jacob, which explains the original first name of my pen-name.
Dale Eldon is my pen-name I used to go by when I wrote mainly horror.
I have gone through a lot of evolution. As a writer and as a person. I have written in multiple genres. I have went through so much in my life. I should be a best-selling author by now, but due to my disability of being only Human, I have failed.
We all go through hell. Even the very best of the Human race who have succeeded the most. In fact, for most, success is the product of epic failure that was turned into learning. I was too much of a quitter. But the call to write never left me. The need to create worlds for an audience always haunted me. The need to be apart of a community always tugging on my heart.
When I created the name, Flint Macwood, it was a growing point in my life. I wanted to do more than write horror. I wanted to write stories that challenge our minds while entertaining us, and a lot of it would be speculative and sci-fi. And I worked hard to increase my skills as a writer and self-publisher. Then my father died of a fast-moving cancer.
My mother is chronically ill, I helped to take care of her and contributed to the household income. But when dad died, I became the only provider. I had no time to write while dealing with grief. My life was shipwrecked.
I did get involved in an online company, which I am still working on building, but just like with writing, this takes time and a lot of hustle if I want to be successful. Through this side business, I have read so many books on entrepreneurship and leadership. All of which has fueled my need to write again.
And then a friend and business partner of mine suggested I get back into writing. I mentioned a story I wanted to write, and she told me she would love to read it. At that point, I still wasn't confident in my ability to produce great stories by a deadline.
Now I am increasing in my ability to produce great stories by deadline. I am learning what I need to build a publishing company. I didn't see myself as someone who could do this, and thus I couldn't do it. But when I started thinking long and hard based on everything I have learned, I began to see myself differently. Which enabled me to start over.
At first, I was on the fence. I followed other authors on Youtube. Quietly learning from them. Then I began to re-start my social media accounts, mainly Twitter. I created a blog, I already had a few posts already written. I have new stories I want to tell along with my old stories. I know I can make Flint Macwood a voice to be reckoned with. I know WarpFieldPublishing will become a huge name in publishing.
I have went through so much, but the important part of this story is that I overcame. I refused to stay down when I got knocked down. It sucked. It was terrible. But I wanted to overcome, a comeback path I am still walking.
Working toward your dream is not easy. It takes guts. It takes a low IQ, IQ as in a low I Quit ratio. Many people have accomplished their dreams who had it worse than any of us. If they can do it, of course, we can. The only excuses we have are the ones we create. Are we problem solvers or are we just looking for epitaphs for our dreams?
I am now writing again. New short stories and novels. I have a Patreon page where I will raise funds for the production and marketing side of WarpFieldPublishing. I have so many goals for this company, and I know I can do it, but only with a community of great people!
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