About

Greetings!

My name is Josh Derke and I love to write. That sounds like an admission of a long-held secret, like it’s an affliction that I need to expunge. This is writers anonymous, and here we do our best to cure you of that most horrible of diseases: the writing bug.

That’s how it feels, anyway. I’ve always had an imaginative mind that looked for outlets to express itself. I lack the fine motor control necessary for drawing and painting, and my asthma makes playing any kind of wind instrument a hit-and-miss endeavor. Writing was a natural alternative, and one that I found came instinctively. I learned to read and write at a very early age, perhaps one of the rare success stories of the old Hooked on Phonics regime. Throughout my life it was uncommon to see me without a book of some sort, often tomes written for people way beyond my age.

To some extent I used writing as a form of escapism. I remember crafting elaborate fantasy worlds with long histories and geopolitical maps. All of these worlds are safely tucked away in binders, perhaps waiting for a time when I can devote more attention to them. When I was younger, however, they allowed me to hide myself from the real world. I needn’t go into details about that here.

Now writing is a form of expression and not a way to escape. I want to tell stories and, perhaps, challenge people with a new perspective. Some of the writing I’ll post here is experimental and in need of a critical eye. I would welcome that as making mistakes is the only way to truly learn about your limitations and abilities as a writer.

Stories appeal to me because they speak to who we are as individuals and as a species. I’ve often thought about what the real defining characteristic of humanity is and the one that stands out is the ability to share dreams and ideas. Part of me doubts that modern homo sapiens was the first species on this planet to tell a story, and there’s something really fantastic about that. If you were to ask me what would make an non-terrestrial intelligent life form truly alien, I would say it would be a lack of storytelling. Narratives define us, for good and ill.

I made this blog, Fictional Heuristics, so I could have a space to post my writings. I was unsure if posting my works on the internet was wise, given the potential hostile nature of the internet. Much of my writing bears on who I am in many different ways and that, naturally, gives me pause. It’s scary to be vulnerable, to put yourself in front of an audience.

My ultimate goal is to become a better writer and communicate my ideas, dreams, and imagination more effectively. I hope that any readers enjoy my writing and give me constructive criticisms so I can learn from my mistakes.

I’ll be posting polished stories, rough drafts, and possibly the outlines of ideas. The genres will range from contemporary fiction to science fiction. Some of it, as I said previously, will be experimental writing.

Thank you for visiting, and taking the time to get to know me a little better. If you wish to reach me my email address is arushedjoke@gmail.com.