People love to tell you how things are going to go, and I’ve always loved proving them wrong. Not that “people” are always wrong, mind, that’s just my contrary nature. As illustrated in my previous post, I am vain enough to believe in my bone-deep singularity.
But having kids is the same for everybody.
The 21st century talks a good game about self-love, self-actualization, making time for oneself, etc. Maybe that's different from vanity, or maybe it's dressing it up so we don't feel guilty about taking pride in our work, appearance, or private desires. Regarding my literary attempts to outlive my own life, or even shaving my head, vanity is a sin I freely own up to.
I will turn 35 years old this week. A few months ago, a friend told me she felt old, and I responded that we are. Old by how we used to reckon old, anyway. I told her that, now, having some years as a husband and father under my belt, I understand much better why men develop mid-life crises and spin out of control. They want to rediscover that young man they (hope they) were before responsibilities changed their minds, or maybe even convince themselves they can be that man again.
When I started writing smut in 2016, the Romance genre accounted for 23% of the total fiction market. Self-publishing had never been easier, and the standards of the consumer were, to put it kindly, unexacting. See, when it comes to writing erotica, it's not so much how you write but what you write about. Proper grammar and punctuation are a plus, but the real money is in finding the kinks, crafting a compelling hook, and making sure everyone gets an HEA (happily ever after).
Okay, I'm up to five blog posts now, and I think I'm ready to give the internet a "hot take." The real difference between Star Trek and Star Wars is that Star Trek is about something and Star Wars is not.
Before you bust out the pitchforks, I'm not saying Star Wars doesn't have stories or plots or characters. I'm not saying the Empire isn't an allegory for fascist governments or that its movies, books, and shows are lacking in emotion. I'm saying that it's not about BIG IMPORTANT THINGS the way Star Trek is about BIG IMPORTANT THINGS.
In the eight years between the completion of Working Class Villain and this gray and grizzled morning, I have poked and prodded and started and stopped four major writing projects. Other ideas have come and gone and been scribbled down and discarded (my file cabinets are full of folders that contain single phrases on folded napkins and indecipherable cursive scribblings on yellow legal paper), but these four are the ones I always come back to.