<a class="proll" href="https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/item_id/2329921-You-Dont-Know-Jack">You Don&#39;t Know Jack

a day ago
In response to "Musings on The Craft"

Boy, I can always rely on you two to deliver the encouragement. Amethyst Snow Angel

raises a good point, though, about tiring of my "bag of tricks." Making stuff up is a writer's stock in trade, but we all have a limited set of experiences to draw on, and those are what we use to bring life to the stuff we've made up. Look, I can't write convincingly about the world of high finance or the life of a brain surgeon. I was a sailor, a karate student, an off-roader, and a safety inspector. As a tabletop wargamer, I understand the principles and application of tactics. That's a lot, but it isn't everything, and it's possible that in sixty years of writing, I've exhausted that bag of tricks. I do feel sometimes that everything I write is plagiarizing my own work. And my "eager grandkids" are all in their twenties, and if it ain't Ariana Grande cool, they aren't interested.
Raven

, bunny trails might be the thing. The navy handed me a list outlining what they wanted and left it to me to invent the job, which I did. I then held it for the last 25 years of my career, and won multiple awards for my performance, so your assessment of my outlook may not be off-base. "Hunter's Creed"

is getting lots of love from you guys, and I suspect it's more because of that ghost than the dour protagonist. But maybe I'll do some "dinking" and see where it goes. I'm honestly near the end of my rope with this. I said "fish or cut bait" in the main article ~ a very odd expression indeed. But I'm beginning to think it's really "fish or get out." Just having this membership keeps pulling me back in here, and if it doesn't lead anywhere productive, I may have to rethink the whole premise.
Not to panic; I'm not going to do anything sudden, but I'm not going to kid around anymore, either. What you see is what you get. Thanks for stopping by, you guys. I always enjoy your company. ... J

1 Like

a day ago
In response to "Musings on The Craft"

I still think it might work to just dink around with the stories--any of them--I too liked Hunter's Creed, but ANY of them works. They're all interesting! I think your productivity brain (from decades of being good at a job, I am guessing) is pinching off your creativity brain, yelling at you about STAYING ON TASK!

(Yes, I know. Bunny trails. But if you're not progressing why *not* go down some fun bunny trails, and instead of a tight novel think of it like a running serial.)

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Amethyst Snow Angel

a day ago
In response to "Musings on The Craft"

Sorry it took me five hours to get to this, pal. Hey, I'm interested in all of those, to some degree. I was fascinated by the Akuma Files, but by the time it got to the last episode... I was starting to get tired of your bag of tricks

if you remember my review.

Right now, I think the most exciting ones are Hunter's Creed and The Orphan Princess. Those seem like the ones where you have something I can't predict, something I haven't seen before with your work. Try to write them for me, because every so often I wonder what's become of that snarky ghost and the villain turned hero, or the villainess who got the makeover. And I'd absolutely love to see how the different threads of the orphan princess tie together - a rollicking sea story would be a lot of fun to read

Oh, I also thought the one about the Orcs and the humans was cool. Lots of room for character development and whatnot. Whatever's most fun for you to brainstorm about... Writing shouldn't be a chore. If you're not dying to get the words on the page... Write them anyway! If that helps

Best wishes for your storytelling progress... Hey, have you tried telling the stories, like to your eager grandkids? Maybe if you tell them first, they'll be more "alive" and easier to write. Does that make sense?

Nov 24, 2025 at 12:29pm
In response to "I'm Baaa-aaack"

What a fantastic complement, Raven

! Back in my "glory days," a reviewer compared me to Joss Whedon and Jules Verne in a single sentence. This is a first for Mozart. Guess I'd better find me a billiard ball... J

Nov 24, 2025 at 11:44am
In response to "I'm Baaa-aaack"

There is a scene in Amadeus where Mozart's wife and father are arguing and he, looking very distressed, slinks away into a side room, shuts the door, and begins rolling a billiard ball back and forth while scribbling down notes on a musical manuscript. I always thought that was the most important scene in the movie because it demonstrates that music never left him alone--it bugged him-- and also that it was easier for him than people.

While you seem to be much better at dealing with people than Mozart was, I do think there's a type of brain whose talent just... doesn't leave because it's wiring. Cannot change wiring, might as well roll the billiard ball and write the Magic Flute, you know?

1 Like

Nov 24, 2025 at 11:31am
In response to "I'm Baaa-aaack"

Good morning, my friends. I'd like to thank you both for your attempts to provide me with some perspective. Here's the difficulty I'm facing with this: I used to build plastic models. Interest in that hobby left me, and while I still have an unassembled model in storage somewhere, there has never been an urge to get it out and build it. I used to be a tabletop wargamer, and while I still own a couple of games that I kept for nostalgia's sake, there has been no urge at all to get them out and play them. I used to explore the back country in my 4x4, and while I've owned another 4x4 after I had lost interest in that pursuit, I never took it more than a hundred yards off the pavement. So, why won't this writing thing leave me alone?
It's been a decade; I know I'm over it. So why won't this damned muse, whatever you consider it to be, leave me alone? You know, I've long since come to terms with nothing productive coming out of my keyboard. At this point in life, I don't even want to be a writer anymore. I want to want to play Borderlands, binge-watch Boy Meets World, and read historical war novels that celebrate courage and sacrifice for a greater cause. So why does this keep pestering me when nothing else does? See? Certifiable mental illness.
You may be goofy, Amethyst Snow Angel

, but that's several cuts above being psychotic... J

Amethyst Snow Angel

Nov 24, 2025 at 9:27am
In response to "I'm Baaa-aaack"

Chill out and enjoy the ride, Jack

Writing is a seesaw of love and hate, I can testify. Just this month, I was ready to give up in frustration over three different prompts because of seasonal exhaustion and brain drain. But I pushed through anyway, and actually, I have a very interesting blog post about one of them... "Humor Advice from ChatGPT"

Anyway, we wish you all the best on your switchback, hairpin journey... Ooh, squirrel! I googled "switchback" and got this cool movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchback_(film) (apologies for the link, WdC doesn't accept the parentheses in Wikipedia URLs

)

Am I ADHD, or just goofy

Nov 23, 2025 at 10:33pm
In response to "I'm Baaa-aaack"

Maybe "am I a writer?" is the wrong question and you can just ask "what would I rather be doing right now"?

Nov 23, 2025 at 10:27pm
In response to "I'm Baaa-aaack"

She is, isn't she? I wish the feckless monkey-plucker would take her show on the road and leave me the hell alone! This, "I am, I'm not, I am, I'm not" is beginning to resemble a certifiable mental illness. I had everything calm and relaxed, and then I heard that damned song, and now I have a burr up my 455 over a twelve-year-old story that died in... storybirth? This frustrates the hell out of me. I had everything just the way I wanted it, enjoying my game, my book that someone else wrote, and binge watching an old TV show, and now I have this earwig crawling through my head because of that damned song. Curse you, Lilith! ... J

Nov 23, 2025 at 5:32pm
In response to "I'm Baaa-aaack"

Don't be embarrassed! The muse is a fickle chick, and she lokes to show up when we stop chasing.