iUniverse Blog

iUniverse author Kenneth R. Trout tells us about his memoir, Navy Crash Crew, and his journey as an author.

My book Navy Crash Crew began as a short fiction story. Slowly it evolved into non-fiction, and finally into a memoir. As the story expanded, I found myself getting more involved with writing techniques. In this book I have tried to include actual conversations, military history, Old Hawaiian legends, lighthearted situations and even a little tragedy, which is always a possibility in the military. I also wanted to share my experiences with all who might enjoy my story.

I first became interested in writing at the age of twelve and started with bits of poetry. When I was around eighteen and after reading many books, it was time to write one of my own. It found that it would be a long process, but I had done many other things in my life that took longer than expected. Later in life I would fulfill some of the things important to me. A US Patent in my name was one. It took five years, but it finally happened. Next, to have the highest electricians license in the state of Oregon. It was almost twenty years before I accomplished that one. Now my goal was to publish a book. I had taken a writers course to learn the basics around 1971 or so. It took over two years to finish because it was by mail.

My favorite part of this experience was to actually have my book published. Along the way I was assisted by iUniverse. With their help I improved my skills and feel this was almost as good as a college education. During this time I found that I had to accept the constructive criticism and use it as a building block to improve and grow.

My advice to any aspiring author: just keep writing and don’t get discouraged. Maybe it will take longer than you think, but in the end you will end up with something to be proud of.

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