Welcome to the Site
I would like to welcome you to my website, gregorydcurrent.com, officially called, The Path of Awen: Narrative, Philosophy, and the Sy’Arrian Legacy. I am the author of The Cradle of Destiny book one of The Sy’Arrian Legacy Series. I created this site in 2017, which has undergone several significant identity changes related to its focus.
Storytelling has always been more than entertainment. It is one of the oldest ways we explore meaning, understand change, and imagine what lies beyond the boundaries of our present experience. This website is devoted to exploration, approaching storytelling not only as a craft, but as a philosophy and a lifelong practice.
At the heart of this work is the concept of Awen. Traditionally understood as the flowing spirit of inspiration, Awen represents the creative current moving through imagination, reflection, and discovery. For me, Awen is not simply a moment of inspiration; it is the guiding idea connecting storytelling, personal philosophy, and the discipline required to bring stories to life.
This site is organized around four blogs, each reflecting a different aspect of that creative journey.
The first blog focuses on The Narrative Compass. Stories endure because they are built upon recognizable structures, patterns of cause and effect, character transformation, and thematic resonance. Here I explore the principles, which serve to give stories their strength and coherence, and how thoughtful frameworks help writers shape meaningful narratives.
The second blog is Stillness and Story, where storytelling meets philosophy. Influenced by Daoism and Zen, this section reflects on creativity as a form of awareness and attentiveness. Rather than forcing ideas into rigid form, the storyteller learns to recognize the natural shape of the story as it emerges.
The third blog is The Writer’s Practice, which examines the practice of writing itself. Storytelling is not only an intellectual pursuit but a daily discipline, one that involves patience, observation, and the steady refinement of both craft and imagination.
The fourth blog is called, The Sy’Arrian Codex centering on the Sy’Arrian Legacy, my eight-book science fiction series. Within those stories, the ideas explored throughout this site, framework, philosophy, inspiration, and practice, come together through narrative.
Like most people, especially writers, I find the prospect of an introduction related to whom I am very mundane and boring. The prospect of sitting down to expound on why I am in a certain place or what has led up to this point land locks my brain so much, I would much rather listen to an endless rhythm of nails scratching down a chalkboard.
I admit it may sound a bit harsh and melodramatic, so let me now contradict myself by pointing out, once I have finished with said introductions in the past, I found it to be both sobering and liberating. Looking back on a path which has led us to a certain point often allows for much needed perspective.
When I began writing at the age of 16 during the early 1980's, I did so with a fervor that could only be described as insatiable. The realm of science fiction and fantasy had always been one of my preferred playgrounds, especially as a player of Dungeon and Dragons. I am fond of saying Star Wars motivated me to write but Dungeons and Dragons inspired me to create.
Star Wars hit the scene in 1977, and an awe struck, 10-year-old me stepped out of the theater into the real world with an immediate desire to create my own adventure in another galaxy far, far away. When I emerged from my collection phase of everything Star Wars, I began to read science fiction, fantasy, and fiction works from the likes of James A. Michener, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Terry Brooks.
My literary consumption became voracious. When I entered high school I took every English and literature class I could, most notably, Science Fiction as Literature in the tenth grade. I also became a library aide during this time to further immerse myself in the worlds created by authors I admire to the present day. It also lead me to begin understanding the structural framework of good storytelling.
When I took college level English classes during my senior year in high school, the two teachers who lead the class knew when to praise and push me. One of them would always say, Excellent! You are very good at drawing in the reader but mechanics, mechanics, and mechanics! While the other once told me this was good, I know you can do much better. Their feedback is what drove me not to just understand mechanics but the essence of what it means to tell a story.
Although my life, like most of us, has gone through a series of its own plot twists with changes in setting as the direct result of cause and effect, I have been resolute in honing my craft while remaining open to constructive criticism and staying firm in my belief characters are not expendable. Commercialism and lack of attention spans should never come at the expense of crafting a wonderful read based on tried-and-true elements of storytelling.
Together, this site forms a single creative philosophy: to understand how stories work, to remain open to inspiration, to practice the craft with intention, and ultimately to give those ideas life through storytelling.
It is an invitation to explore this journey, one guided by the quiet but enduring current of Awen.