This week marks the 10th anniversary that I’ve been writing a weekly essay.  A whopping 549 essays over ten years across three different series…

My first series was entitled Kokoda Preparation which focused on the training and my subsequent hike across Papua New Guinea in November 2011 with my best mate Craig.

I had decided to raise money for cancer research after losing my dad to brain cancer in February 2011.  And because I had so many people sponsor me, I thought that this would be a great way of bringing everyone along on the journey, not just on the hike but also during my intensive preparation as well.

So, to set the scene for what was ahead of me, Papua is one of the most isolated countries on earth and located just 3 degrees south of the equator.

The mountainous terrain that I would be traversing goes from sea level to over 7,000 feet and back.  This is especially true with a 50+ lb pack on your back.  Can you say, “lung busting?”

Now factor in a narrow, muddy track through steamy equatorial jungles, crossing swollen rivers and traversing treacherous and slippery mountain tracks.

You must be in good shape to attempt even it…or crazy!  😜  Now, be nice!!!

There is no question that it was the adventure of a lifetime and one I’m so glad I completed.  In fact, it was a huge and contributing factor in me choosing a different path in life.

Let’s just say there was a lot of time to think out on the track…

I published my first essay way back on Oct 14, 2011.   Hard to believe it’s been ten years to be honest.

After the first 17 essays, from October to December I found that I had become addicted to writing.

My love affair with the written word had begun!

I decided to begin a new series and was searching for a name.  For some reason the concept of unforgettable memories was on my mind…”Indelible”.  Then put two and two together to create – Indelible Adventures.

This went on to become to name to my business as well as to the title of my first book.

I began writing this first series Indelible Adventures in January 2012.  Overall, it ran for some 236 essays across a five-year span which included a slight detour with my series Disheveled Musings.

I’m not sure what prompted me to create the Disheveled Musings series in February 2014?  This lasted for 40 essays before I decided that I preferred the Indelible Adventures theme and reverted to that name.

Then in January 2017 I amalgamated all my content into my website – Indelible Adventures.  Since that time I’ve added a further 256 posts which can be accessed via my website.

So, here’s the essay composition – 549 essays in total

  • Kokoda Preparation – 17 essays
  • Indelible Adventures (stand-alone) – 236 essays
  • Disheveled Musings – 40 essays
  • Indelible Adventures on my current website – 256 essays

In addition, I’ve also written a 100-episode micro fiction (semi erotic) series entitled Hanoi Posting which is not yet complete.  However, I have been noodling over the idea of making this into a screenplay and pitching it to someone like Netflix…

Counting all the 549 essays which average about 850 words per essay, this translates into 466,650 words.  Then add the micro series, with each episode running about 300 words this is another 30,000 words.

Now if we add my two books – the first Indelible Adventures is 209 pages with approximately 250 words per page works out to another 52,250.  My second book Una Storia d’amore is a coffee table book, primarily photography of my trips to Italy.  There are about 10,000 words in this one.

Overall, with all of my essays, books and micro series I’ve actually written somewhere in the vicinity of 560,000 words.

When I began writing my intent was to document the stories of my life for Zach and Sam…

I would never have imagined that I would have written an essay a week for ten years and published a book, let alone two over the course of my life.

Not too bad for a guy who’d never written a word until ten years ago as a way to bring my donors along on my journey to Kokoda.

Now here’s where it gets crazy….

Strangely it’s close to the length of Tolstoy’s epic book War and Peace first published in 1869 which maxed out at a whopping 587,287 words.

I realize I’m not a literary giant or will win any writing awards but for my stories, but for me it’s all about following my passion and writing purely for the love of it.

Someone said to me once – “if you want to be a writer, then write…every day”.   Great advice!

In addition, my other big accomplishment of recent times has been the recording and publishing of my three podcast series – Reinvention (4), Stories from the Road (25) and OneLife (31).

In total some 62 episodes with approximately 3700 downloads and counting…

All I can say is that it’s been an incredible decade from a creative perspective.  This is especially true if I factor in the 350,000+ photos in my photo library.

It’s time to celebrate…perhaps with a glass of Prosecco!

Until next week

Ciao!

 

 

 

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