I used to consider myself a "serious" writer. In those days, when an idea hit, the words would flow. I couldn't stop them any more than I can stop water from coming out of a garden hose by pressing my thumb against the end. It can't be stopped. The water and the words just push harder. My characters would come alive for me after I start writing dialog. After I heard them speak, they'd take over telling the story.

I wrote two novels and four film scripts this way. I received awards, but never sold a damned thing. Awards are nice, but they don't pay the rent. I finally became so discouraged that I completely stopped writing. I thought I'd never write again. The words no longer flowed. I was no longer a writer. A long time passed.

But that may be changing, thanks to UMD. I didn't plan to write anything here, I thought I was no longer a writer, but suddenly last month, something unexpected happened. Words were flowing again. Unknown to myself, a UMD story was emerging. It was "My New Life". It was totally unplanned. The first two chapters just gushed out spontaneously. Now for the first time in my life, I'm writing just for fun. After a long, dry spell of not writing anything and believing I'd never write again, I'm writing again and loving it, actually learning how to write all over again. I'm loving it!

IMPORTANT: I write some stories in first person, but it's important for you to know that I'm not writing about myself. It's just a new way for me to get into my character's head. All my characters are entirely fictional. None are based on me or any other real or fictional person

You might enjoy the photo albums I'm creating for my stories. Each album contains AI images I've created of some characters in the story . It's a new and fascinating experience for me to see pictures of the characters I'm writing. I have albums for three stories so far, "My New Life", "Becoming Tommy the Mud Man", and "Quest for Mud".

Here are my UMD stories so far:

"My New Life": This is the story that started me writing on UMD last month. The first two chapters just flowed out spontaneously. I couldn't stop them. That's how writing can be. I've now written four chapters and expect at least one more. It's about Tito, a guy who gets totally fed up with his first job out of college, so he quits and goes in search of real life. He meets Luke, a small town auto wrecking yard worker. They become close friends, sharing a love of grease and mud. I really like these two guys, it's almost like we've become friends, so I won't be surprised if I write more about them in the future. Also take a look at their pictures in my "My New Life" album. I like how they came out. It's the first time I used AI to illustrate a story.

"Becoming Tommy the Mud Man": This story just came out of me spontaneously, almost like a fun burp (if burps can be fun!). I wrote it in one go. No planning, no chapters. It's about Thomas, an always clean guy whose suit gets soaked when his car breaks down in a storm, leading to him discovering the joys of mud and becoming Tommy the Mud Man.

"Quest for Mud": This is my current writing. It's the only one I've done any planning for. So far, I've posted two of its eight chapters. It's about Jason, a lurker on UMD who's never posted anything here, but loves getting aroused seeing photos and videos of other people here getting muddy. One day, however, he realizes he can't go on just watching other people's fantasies, so he buys a 4wd truck and sets out to have his own muddy adventures. I'll be posting Chapter 3 soon.

I'd love feedback on what you like and what I can improve in my stories.