Musings of a Mid-Range Career and Mid-Life View

In some ways, it's interesting observing baby writers as they make their way through the publishing landscape. It's not different than watching your children grow up.

You want to help. You don't want to see them make the same mistakes you did. But you have to let them learn to walk on their own. And that means letting them fall.

Things change over time, and the problems the baby writers may not be the same problems as older writers did. Older writers miss out on  new subgenres and new techniques because that's not how they did it when they were winding their way through the publishing path.

I felt the same way when Genius Kid was growing up. The difference is I'm learning to keep my mouth shut.

I can make a suggestion if asked. But I need to let go when my suggestion isn't taken.

Maybe our fate is simply to roll through cycle after cycle, and nothing ever really changes.

Or maybe it's time for Ohio to legalize recreational marijuana.

Writing Tidbit

Dean Wesley Smith posted this video on his own blog because creator Michael La Ronn talked about Dean's book Writing Into the Dark.

For the record, I read Dean's book some time ago. And I pretty much gave up outlining back in 2008 when I wrote Amish, Vamps & Thieves. These days, I do a half-assed combination of plotting and pantsing. As in, I know how/where the story starts, I know how/where the story ends.

The middle stuff? I just start typing and leave it to the characters to figure out how they are getting from Point A to Point Z. It's basically my own weird version of The Amazing Race. LOL

Anyway, I watched Michael's video, and I was intrigued. He has some interesting spiritual/psychological insights beyond Dean's "Just the facts, ma'am" delivery. I ended up subscribing to Michael's YouTube channel to watch the rest of his videos on writing. And I'll probably check out his fantasy novels, too.

So check out Michael's commentary on Writing Into the Dark and see if he can help your process.