The Gurp Files is a collection of thoughts, ideas, essays, memoirs and other non-fictional pieces that I wrote. I don’t intend it to be a journal or diary. I may reflect on situations and events but I really hope it doesn’t become some kind of whiny, self-indulgent mess.

That being said, I think there is a real and true narcissistic and arrogant component of writing inherent to the activity. I would swear to you that I read an essay on writing where Stephen King talked about the arrogance of writing. But I can’t find it right now. So, if you know where it came from, I’m trying to give the proper attribution; I don’t want to plagiarize. Anyway, the idea is that you have to have a certain amount of arrogance to think that your thoughts and ideas, your musings and plottings are not only worth writing out, but that others might be interested enough to read them and even further that they would benefit somehow from what you have written.

What the Hell, though, someone has to do it, I guess.

I guess I do have that arrogance. And narcissism. I’m narcissistic enough to think that I’m interesting and to sit around and think about what I think.

Some writers will talk about a compulsion to write. I don’t think I possess that. I *want* to write I guess… But the actual act of the sitting and the typing and the *gasp* rewriting and revising… Hmmm, not so much. I’d ray her play a video game, watch a movie or ride a bike.

But, then again, what I really like more than actually writing is having finished writing. I like having done it more than doing it. I know, like that makes sense. Right?

So, why are these called The Gurp Files? My initials are G. R. P. When I was younger, much younger, my mother would sometimes pronounce my initials as a name. Gurp. As you will likely read, my mother’s life, and death, had a profound impact on me. And, I just like the way it sounds. It’s funny and kind of self-deprecating. So, there you go.

Hopefully as you read through more of the files you will find that they justify themselves and that the what and the why is self-evident.