tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post8469252656046384615..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: The Obstacle Ahead is a MirrorLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-88625526416944646232018-11-12T13:58:49.285-05:002018-11-12T13:58:49.285-05:00Lots to think about here! I'm still at the tos...Lots to think about here! I'm still at the tossing-out stories-that-I-hope-will-entertain-people stage. Maybe I'll skip the one about trying-for-significance. Thanks for the short cut! Your reliability is, as we used to say in programming, not a defect, it's a feature!Kaye Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05596677617002735674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-81730374923608160752018-10-17T23:24:54.819-04:002018-10-17T23:24:54.819-04:00Fun is what fuels the passion. Let's face it, ...Fun is what fuels the passion. Let's face it, passion, like a stove, isn't always turned to high. But, when you relax and let the words flow as they will, it works for you and is perfect for everyone else. Glad you a enjoying again.Debra H. Goldsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17533446284471717884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-57777853105678053372018-10-16T22:38:06.524-04:002018-10-16T22:38:06.524-04:00I'm glad the fun returned, Michael. Your audie...I'm glad the fun returned, Michael. Your audience loves you.<br /><br />Ironically, I started a joint project with a colleague who hit one of those stumbling blocks. With luck, the fun will return and perhaps the project.<br /><br />Your title evoked memory of a barely remembered movie, probably teens or maybe moonshiners against revenuers or county constables. The only thing I recall was someone placed a mirror in the middle of the road with fatal results.<br /><br />Glad the mojo's shakin', Michael.<br />Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-29281843368381625802018-10-16T20:42:42.367-04:002018-10-16T20:42:42.367-04:00Thanks, everyone.
To answer Frank's question:...Thanks, everyone.<br /><br />To answer Frank's question: I can not imagine not writing. So, whether I'm on a roll or deep in a funk, I still produce words. When I look back at what I have written, I can never tell how I was feeling the day I wrote, but I can see <i>that</i> I wrote.Michael Brackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01072019804281421944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74697298720034686972018-10-16T13:13:25.740-04:002018-10-16T13:13:25.740-04:00Finally meeting you [Unless, did we cross paths at...Finally meeting you [Unless, did we cross paths at LCC in 2007? I don't recall for certain, and having had an online friendship for so long muddies the memory waters] was one of the coolest things about my first Bouchercon.<br /><br />I think it's brave to be so open about some of the doubts and struggles you have as a writer, because I think we all share them... or at least, I know I do. And as others have said here, there is certainly value in art that makes people feel something and escape their reality for a little while.<br /><br />The other thing that I think you touch on very adroitly is that the real question isn't if it is important or fun... it's is it important or fun TO ME. Because while writing is a craft, being a writer is a state of existence. Like a musician who could never set aside a guitar, could you ever imagine not writing?<br /><br />I didn't think so.Frank Zafirohttp://frankzafiro.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-70427213023139864052018-10-16T11:30:06.194-04:002018-10-16T11:30:06.194-04:00Well done, Michael. I remember Larry Block saying...Well done, Michael. I remember Larry Block saying that back in the sixties when he wrote his first soft porn novel the publisher liked it so much they offered him double for the next - and he froze up because he didn't know how to write twice as well! So it happens at all levels.<br /><br />I have always said that writing involves the Miner (who gives you ideas) and the Jeweler (who polishes them). You can't give the Miner orders but you CAN bribe him by spending money on your writing career, and that's one reason I go to Bouchercon and other writers conferences.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-24566167737825716572018-10-16T09:38:43.824-04:002018-10-16T09:38:43.824-04:00Thanks for this, Michael. I know this struggle, to...Thanks for this, Michael. I know this struggle, too.Larry W. Chavishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804143598641414386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-46194941885743391792018-10-16T09:37:49.062-04:002018-10-16T09:37:49.062-04:00Interesting insight into the mind of a writer. How...Interesting insight into the mind of a writer. How did Ray Bradbury put it? "You fail only if you stop writing."O'Neil De Nouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03142721824657611738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-26813543575054428392018-10-16T09:35:43.397-04:002018-10-16T09:35:43.397-04:00Time spent with you and Temple was one of the high...Time spent with you and Temple was one of the highlights of my Bouchercon, Michael — as it was last year in Toronto and earlier this year at Malice. I'm so glad that, after all these years, we finally have had the opportunity to meet IRL! Thanks for another powerful essay, and here's to many more f2f encounters!joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-54856556210451362682018-10-16T09:34:01.092-04:002018-10-16T09:34:01.092-04:00A good movie to watch when the mo-jo goes away - a...A good movie to watch when the mo-jo goes away - and I think this happens to most of us - is "Sullivan's Travels". There goes the film director who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that "creating laughter is his greatest contribution to society." Not to mention that from that, of course, came "O Brother, Where Art Thou", which makes me laugh so hard I'm rolling on the floor. <br />Entertainment is more necessary than ever!<br />And, as always, in awe of your productivity. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-47128602554047698852018-10-16T09:07:01.862-04:002018-10-16T09:07:01.862-04:00Every time I start to think, "But is this sto...Every time I start to think, "But is this story really important?" I think about a quote I saw on Facebook from Stan Lee. Of course I can't find it now, but it was something along the lines of how he was just a comic book writer. He looked at all his friends and acquaintances going out and doing "important" things like becoming doctors, and wondered if being a comic book writer was "important." And he realized that people NEED entertainment and if his writing could life someone's spirits at a low time, it didn't matter if it was "just" comics, it was "important."<br /><br />So yeah. I'm not going to make a million bucks and I'm not gonna find the cure for cancer. I'm not gonna write something that's going to fix racial tensions. But if someone comes home from a rough day at the office and finds a little respite in my stories? That's more than good enough for me - and a reason to keep going.Liz Millironhttp://lizmilliron.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-11999768389686366462018-10-16T09:01:50.799-04:002018-10-16T09:01:50.799-04:00Hey, Michael --
I'm sorry to hear that you str...Hey, Michael --<br />I'm sorry to hear that you struggled with that fella in the mirror this year--though know exactly what you mean here. I've asked those same questions myself, and too often writing loses its fun, feels like a job, and a thankless one at that. Tara as well has gone through periods where writing feels like work, and then suddenly, thankfully, the spark comes back. Glad it did for you as well, and looking forward to new stories, new projects, more fun times ahead!<br />Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-2599147725239966172018-10-16T08:42:08.236-04:002018-10-16T08:42:08.236-04:00Michael, I'm still in awe of your productivity...Michael, I'm still in awe of your productivity (the next story I'll read in the current Alfred Hitchcock is one of yours), and I often go through the same mental funk. I thought it was because I came to "real" writing late, but I think we're about the same age.<br /><br />I'm having lots of trouble developing the next book, and part of the problem is that old self-editor: is this good enough? Will anyone care? Will it "matter?" <br /><br />My cat says "no," and my wife says, "How will you know until you write it?"<br /><br />I'm never going to get wealthy writing (we can name all five wealthy writers in the world, can't we?), but it gives me the opportunity to meet people to interview. Meeting people is good--as you yourself point out. It keeps us from getting too weird.<br /><br />And it reminds us why we write, too. It's not really just for us, is it?Steve Liskowhttp://www.steveliskow.comnoreply@blogger.com