I think the bit you said about your style not being "traditional" bears a bit of emphasis. The present tense threw me off a bit when I first started the series, but I firmly believe that when it comes to stylistic choices, the author should always err on the side of completing their vision as they envisioned it. It may narrow your audience, but I'd rather have a small audience that loved my work than a large one that just thought it was okay. I think sticking to your guns on the stylistic choices you made has given the series its own identity, and that's something you just can't fake.
That's not to say that I won't write stuff in a more traditional way. I actually plan on it and I have done so previously, I just haven't published any of it. However, when I was adapting the original graphic novel script into a novel form, I liked how it flowed and just got right to the point. So I just ran with it. For the series, it's also allowed me to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
And once again hitting me right in the truth, specifically on the point of time.
I do want to write and pen stories for other publications. I already have some in-roads and opportunities staring me down. I'm too full of stories not to tell them. But time has been the absolute killer of a lot of my plans.
There's a reason I'm taking a full year (with the help of family) to work on not just 365, but all my endeavors. YouTube, radio, musicmaking, film reviews and filmmaking, and of course, fiction. It's because we are living in a world frankly unfit to live in. Bureaucracy, deranged expenses, and a laundry list of other maladies gobble up every ounce of our time and energy that isn't nailed down. I'm unsurprised that a lot of wonderful talents are at the beck-and-call of full-time employment, and thus are limited in what they can do. That's where I want to come in and take a stab at making my work in the Iron Age my life's true work. Because at the end of the day, I'm a creative. I may have to pull a day job by the year's end. I may have to think long and hard about what projects go forward and what get put on hold. But I want the chance to die on my feet before I throw myself at the world's mercy.
Every day is one day closer to the end goal. That's what I stay focused on. Luckily, things for me are moving quicker than I thought they would after a lot of previous creative avenues didn't pan out and I had to move on. I think the difference this time is that I am just focused on what "I" want and not trying to cater to what people tell me they want or what I think will do better. Somehow, sticking to my guns and doing it how I want to do it has worked much better than trying to make something that would appeal to the most people. Go figure.
I hear you on this. We are being drained. I'm writing at about 1/10th the speed I could be... and it's best to go indie with whatever small business you can because big biz will just grind you.
I'm new here but I like what I'm reading. Your thoughts around this really resonate with me and give me a lot to reflect on. I still send a couple stories out to magazines but it's more for the $$$ and free marketing. Now is the time to build up your own body of work and sell it on your own.
Keep building your own thing, Rob. Looking forward to following your journey!
I think the bit you said about your style not being "traditional" bears a bit of emphasis. The present tense threw me off a bit when I first started the series, but I firmly believe that when it comes to stylistic choices, the author should always err on the side of completing their vision as they envisioned it. It may narrow your audience, but I'd rather have a small audience that loved my work than a large one that just thought it was okay. I think sticking to your guns on the stylistic choices you made has given the series its own identity, and that's something you just can't fake.
That's not to say that I won't write stuff in a more traditional way. I actually plan on it and I have done so previously, I just haven't published any of it. However, when I was adapting the original graphic novel script into a novel form, I liked how it flowed and just got right to the point. So I just ran with it. For the series, it's also allowed me to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
And once again hitting me right in the truth, specifically on the point of time.
I do want to write and pen stories for other publications. I already have some in-roads and opportunities staring me down. I'm too full of stories not to tell them. But time has been the absolute killer of a lot of my plans.
There's a reason I'm taking a full year (with the help of family) to work on not just 365, but all my endeavors. YouTube, radio, musicmaking, film reviews and filmmaking, and of course, fiction. It's because we are living in a world frankly unfit to live in. Bureaucracy, deranged expenses, and a laundry list of other maladies gobble up every ounce of our time and energy that isn't nailed down. I'm unsurprised that a lot of wonderful talents are at the beck-and-call of full-time employment, and thus are limited in what they can do. That's where I want to come in and take a stab at making my work in the Iron Age my life's true work. Because at the end of the day, I'm a creative. I may have to pull a day job by the year's end. I may have to think long and hard about what projects go forward and what get put on hold. But I want the chance to die on my feet before I throw myself at the world's mercy.
Stay killer, Rob. We got this!
Every day is one day closer to the end goal. That's what I stay focused on. Luckily, things for me are moving quicker than I thought they would after a lot of previous creative avenues didn't pan out and I had to move on. I think the difference this time is that I am just focused on what "I" want and not trying to cater to what people tell me they want or what I think will do better. Somehow, sticking to my guns and doing it how I want to do it has worked much better than trying to make something that would appeal to the most people. Go figure.
And that's the key, setting your own terms and working by them rather than anyone else's.
I hear you on this. We are being drained. I'm writing at about 1/10th the speed I could be... and it's best to go indie with whatever small business you can because big biz will just grind you.
I'm new here but I like what I'm reading. Your thoughts around this really resonate with me and give me a lot to reflect on. I still send a couple stories out to magazines but it's more for the $$$ and free marketing. Now is the time to build up your own body of work and sell it on your own.
Keep building your own thing, Rob. Looking forward to following your journey!