I want to prepare you for something. You might want to sit down. Are you sitting down? There is going to come, in the very near future, a week where you will be forced to reread some of my older posts. I will be in a delivery room freaking out with a big smile on my face.
Author: JD Mader
JD Mader is an award winning short story writer and novelist. 'Joe Café' and 'The Biker' are out now, as well as 'Please, no eyes'. and the collaborative 'Bad Book'. Mader has been writing for half his life and has no plans on stopping any time soon. Learn more about JD Mader at his blog and his Amazon author page.
The Wolf
So, I have to write a post. But posts are made of wood and they create fences! And fences keep people in. And keep people out. And possums. Someone think of the possums. Sure, they can climb fences, but they shouldn’t have to. You want me to build a fence, Mr. Hise? How dare you?
This is supposed to be about community. How many times do we have to talk about the gatekeepers and our newfound indie freedom? Well, you know what Hise, gates are made out of wood, too – just like posts. I see your agenda.
Cross Training
A lot of people ask me for advice on writing. That’s not completely true, but it sounds badass. And some people do. I’ve posted recently about some of the exercises I do. Now, I am going to tell you the ultimate secret to my method. Cross training.
Remember when all the shoe companies came out with ‘cross trainers’. They looked kind of like a running shoe, a hiking boot, and a tennis shoe had spent a turbulent and shameful night in a bedbug-ridden motel with six bottles of Boones Farm wine and an eight ball. The idea was that you could run, hike, climb a mountain, bicycle, fight a lion, insult a pageant mom, do wind sprints, fly, seduce a hippo, and hang-glide without changing shoes. Or something to that effect.
Well, that’s basically the approach I take to writing now, and I do believe it has sharpened my game up a bit.
Mistaken Identity
I’m not going to lie to you. (Hopefully, you know this by now.) I am one of the most competitive people I know. I try to repress this aspect of my personality because I don’t find it endearing. If someone has to win, I want it to be me. If someone is going to judge me, they better damn well judge favorably, because I do everything I can do to “win”. I don’t do things I can’t excel in. Like I said, it is one of the things I dislike most about myself, but it is what it is. So, it was with a sick feeling in my stomach that I checked my books on Amazon and saw that, along with 8 five-star reviews, ‘The Biker’ now has a ONE STAR review. Then I looked deeper and breathed again, and then I made a call to Amazon. Now, I am waiting. A bit bemused, a little angry, and a lot befuddled.