Tonight’s the night. And it’s going to happen again and again. Has to happen. Nice night.
These are the opening words of the serial killing Showtime drama Dexter. I loved this show for all its wild and ridiculous complexities. Did I stumble upon it accidentally in 2007 when attempting to illegally download episodes of the children’s cartoon Dexter’s Laboratory? Absolutely. After all, I was a typical broke young adult starting life after college. Did I then, after discovering my error, go back and find every available episode and continue in this fashion until I could afford Showtime? Also yes. And while my days as a pirate on the high seas of torrent downloads are far behind me, Dexter remains a favorite of my wife and I.
In those opening words, we see the inevitability of the thing that Dexter must do. For him, at least. As an audience this is our entrance into something that we begin to realize was already going on. And the nightly task he feels compelled to do is completely wrong, no matter how he struggles to justify it to himself with a set of rules.
But while I make no plans to take justice into my own hands, that same kind of drive and sentiment is where I find myself now. Writing is something I have aspired to and dabbled in, but not yet for an audience. Transitioning from writing to writer is where I am convinced my path is leading. Just have to do the damn thing, though.
I’m kicking this off as a first post on this website, garthwaite.com. This little slice of digital real estate was staked out by my father Jim Garthwaite for his very small but very successful pistolsmith company. When he passed away three years ago I wasn’t willing to release it back into the wilds.
Let’s be honest, Garthwaite is not a particularly common name. It would not have been snapped up by greedy little domain squatters waiting to extort the masses of Garthwaites vying to have their last name emblazoned in the search bar.
Even so, I retained it protectively and proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it. Until now.
There have been half a dozen angles I have thought or begun to work up to plant a flag in the ground and announce to anyone willing to hear it that I am, indeed, a writer. And take me seriously, dammit!
This is compounded by the fact that I grew up in a household where the cardinal sins were murder, voting Democrat, and looking foolish. If I were to do this, it would have to be the perfect thing or else everyone would realize that there was a chance I was also not perfect. So the ideas slipped past as the boat moved downstream.
Now here we are, rapidly closing in on six years since I left my job to take care of my two wonderful kids and ease into working on my first novel. They’re now both in school and I’ve got a draft sitting here that hasn’t seen the light of day because I won’t release it. Not exactly a stirring story, but this is my reality.
So what are we doing here? Just putting something out there. Being willing to do this badly so that I have a chance to be better. This hallowed hard drive space on a server rack somewhere needs a good dusting off and some exercise. The sleeper has awakened.
Now, I don’t know how regularly I’ll be posting articles or thoughts to this particular website. I could begin writing essays or opinions on movies, books, or culture to accompany my own creative efforts. I mean, it’s such an untapped corner of the entertainment market I would be a fool to ignore it! Or maybe this is all an elaborate scam to found my own religion or market a miracle cure and you’ve already fallen into my trap. But the actual point is that beginnings need to begin or they just sit there gathering dust until the opportunities pass or wither.
So I’m Jon. I’m a writer and this is my space now. Welcome in and I hope you have a good time.
Tonight’s the night. Nice night.