Eric R. Merriweather

When a farmer plants a crop, he surveys the land to ensure it is ripe for planting. He tills it to break up uneven soil and to determine that this ground has the nutrients needed to grow. He goes about the planting itself, meticulously and methodically placing seed, in the way that will yield the most growth in that season, and he never stops seeking to perfect the efficiency of his work or the strength of his hands. This brief description, in a nutshell, is who I am as a writer.

I come from farmers, military men, and teachers. These people, whose lives and lessons have been passed down, have taught me to value honest work and honest living. As a result, I have developed an affection for ensuring that the soil of my life, and of my writing, is always in a state of readiness for new growth. My mother said once, "if you ever act as if you've made it, you limit your ability to better yourself or your craft". I was taught the value of learning new things and learned to revel in the process of pruning the parts of my writing that disserve me. So every day, I seek to be a better version of myself.

Growing up, I was introduced to Shakespeare and Sir Authur Conan Doyle and developed a love for both the flowery and the descriptive. As I got older, I began to read the rhetoricians Plato, Aristotle and Burke as well as philosophers like Kant and Locke. Through them, I developed in my understanding of analytical speech as well as the construction of logical and compelling diction. As a result of this training, when asked, "what sorts of things can you write?", I say, "I can write anything".

My passion as a writer, and what drew me to it at a young age, is in weaving words together in a way that not only entreats the reader to be intrigued, but is also precise and understandable. When I craft narratives or stories, my goal is to invite the reader and offer them a way to feel at home, in the words. Whether those words are instructive or purely creative. Whether I am writing for a medical company or a children's book. I want the voice the words create to serve as an earnest guide that plants seeds of truth in every reader and create, in them, a desire to know more.

When I've helped students in their writing I have told them something a teacher of mine once said, "there are many words in the English language, so find ways to weave them together that is all your own and you will always have something interesting and unique to say". Words that I live by.

My name is Eric Merriweather and I am a writer. Hire me.

If you would like to see more of my work, both professional and personal, please see my clippings. If you are interested in my writing, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.