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By MMRule, February 27, 2012 12:00 am

Are fictional characters drawn directly from life? Obviously not, at least on a one-to-one basis—you’d better not, unless you want to get sued or shot on your way to the mailbox some fine morning.

~Stephen King, On Writing

"Indie Shopping" Cartoon by MMRule

Does people-watching help your character development?  Comment and let us know!

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By MMRule, February 13, 2012 12:00 am

Happy Valentine’s Day!  One of the most fulfilling relationships that we writers can have is with our novels!  So remember to give your work-in-progress some TLC on Tuesday!  It is also a good idea to buy a Valentine and a nice dinner for your significant other too.

"Indie Romance" Cartoon by MMRule

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By MMRule, January 30, 2012 12:00 am

Do you really need hobbies if you are an aspiring author?  Weigh in and leave a comment!

"Indie Hobbies" Cartoon by MMRule

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By MMRule, January 23, 2012 12:00 am

Can’t wait to tell someone about your productive weekend of writing and editing?  Speak at your own risk!

"Indie Bragging" Cartoon by MMRule

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By MMRule, October 31, 2011 12:00 am

Happy Halloween!

"An Indie Halloween" by MMRule

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By MMRule, October 17, 2011 12:00 am

"Indie Time Management" by MMRule

How do you balance work, family, friends, writing, blogging, social networking, etc.?

Does making a schedule help?  Comment and share your tips!

Comments (2)

By MMRule, October 10, 2011 9:00 pm

Feeling unappreciated?

No one tweeting about you?  No pending Facebook notifications?  Checking your work email after dinner just so you feel connected to others?  Do you feel like giving up on your blog?

No more! 

You are always connected to hundreds of people who care that you blog: the comment spammers!  Without you they have no purpose, so even when it seems like no one appreciates you, they do!

This post is dedicated to the absurd but strangely enjoyable spam comments we don’t mind reading.  Below are some of my favorites that actually lift my mood on a bad day.  Submit your own spam comments for us to enjoy!

Short and Sweet

Nice blog. Keep blogging.

I was extremely in seventh heaven to turn up this site.

amazing blog, very interesting.

Hi, this is a great post! Thanks.

Hello. Thank you for posting this post. It helped me alot.

Thanks for the share!

Love your site.

Oddly Specific Yet Vague

Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative.

I want donate this site, how can I do that?

Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your website? My blog is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would truly benefit from a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Thank you!

I beg permission to quote some articles from this blog to complete the assignment from my school. Thank you for sharing this information, very useful for me.

Fortune Cookie Wannabe

Effort only fully releases its reward following a person will not quit.

Comments (4)

By MMRule, September 19, 2011 12:00 am

When I came across Russell Brand’s eulogy for Amy Winehouse back in July, I expected that I’d peruse it and move on with my day.  I was unfamiliar with Brand’s writing until that point.  I watched a variety of his interviews on YouTube when he was promoting Booky Wook 2: This Time It’s Personal, but I only did so because I find his voice enchanting and his looks captivating.  Or do I find his looks enchanting and his voice captivating?  Either way we both have naturally curly hair, and I respect that he doesn’t cut his short.

I started reading the eulogy, therefore, with my usual, “I want to look at as few words as possible to know what this is about” mentality.  And I stopped myself right away because I could tell that there was too much truth in what he had to say for me not to give it my full attention.

 Russell Brand on Addicts

In particular I was startled by Brand’s description of what it is like to be an addict, an understanding that is guided by his own history of addiction and recovery:

All addicts, regardless of the substance or their social status share a consistent and obvious symptom; they’re not quite present when you talk to them. They communicate to you through a barely discernible but unignorable veil. Whether a homeless smack head troubling you for 50p for a cup of tea or a coked-up, pinstriped exec foaming off about his speedboat, there is a toxic aura that prevents connection. They have about them the air of elsewhere, that they’re looking through you to somewhere else they’d rather be. And of course they are. The priority of any addict is to anaesthetise the pain of living to ease the passage of the day with some purchased relief.

~Russell Brand

Although I read those words so many months ago, I still haven’t been able to ignore the way I see myself in them.  And it isn’t because I’m on the spectrum of “homeless smack head” to “coked-up pinstriped exec,” but because I’m a writer.

 Do You Live With “The Air of Elsewhere?”

It is incredibly difficult for writers to live in the here and now.  We dream about our characters to the extent that we know how often they breakout and blink.  We scan our surroundings and memorize each detail so we may later give credence to the fictional worlds we create.  We fantasize about an alternate existence where we don’t have a day job, publishers send us advances for our writing, and fans by the thousands download our book.

So when it is time to speak with someone, to listen to our spouse, or to sit through a meeting at work, our minds are lingering in these alternate realities.  As Russell Brand suggests, we look through what is happening to where we’d rather be.  Because our priorities are not like those of everyone else.  Those in whom we invest our time and energy have to be real to us before they can even exist to others!

Is Writing An Addiction?

Brand has stated in interviews that anything can become an addiction, and I agree with him.  Writing can become all consuming and over prioritized to the point where we ignore our family and friends as we make time for our characters and our dreams.  So we writers are presented with a challenge: take off the veil and be present to others first.

What Are Your Priorities?

This challenge is one that we should take seriously.  Because no matter how imaginative we are, we must first be present in this world.  Publishing a book now and then does not justify isolating ourselves and neglecting whom we love and those in need.

Do you see yourself in Brand’s description of what it means to be an addict? 

Do you believe that writing can be an addiction?  Do you look at others through a veil? 

Add your opinion in the comments for this post!