Yesterday, I taped another Best Week Ever, which will air this Friday. I had a wonderful time. I made myself laugh, and I made everyone else at the taping laugh. I really hope that I get to be a more regular part of that show, because it’s so much fun.
But check out This totally cool thing that happened in the parking garage when I was waiting for the elevator:
I gave my ID to the security guard and told him I was going to tape Best Week Ever. While he signed me in, the elevator doors opened, and a really cute girl walked out. (I only mention that she was really cute because . . . let’s face it, I’m a guy, and guys notice these things.)
She looked right at me and said, “I love your website.” She said it simply, and matter-of-factly,
I felt like I’d just won a million dollars, man. I didn’t even know what to say, so I just said, “Thank you so much!”
She walked past me and the security guard, and disappeared into the garage.
I felt like I was in this bubble of joy, where the rest of the world didn’t exist. She didn’t say that she liked this movie I did twenty years ago, or this TV show that I did fifteen years ago. She didn’t even say “You know, I don’t think Python sucked that bad . . .” She said that she loved my website, this thing that I’m doing now. Like I mentioned last week, I haven’t done much in the acting world over the last few years that I’m proud of . . . but I’m very proud of my website.
Is it okay to say that? I don’t want to come off as a dick, and I’m keenly aware of the Pride coming before the Fall . . . but I really do like what I’ve been able to do here.
My whole life I wanted to write, but I never did because I thought I was supposed to be an actor. But every morning, I get up, drink way too much coffee, and spend the next three or four hours doing what I love: I work on Just A Geek, or I write something for my website, or something for ACME . . . most of the stuff I write I don’t even publish. I just do it so I write every day . . . and it rules. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s utter crap, most of the time it’s just sort of there . . . but it’s mine, and when that girl said that she loved my website, I felt like I could own the joy her comments brought me, because what you read here is really me. I’m not playing a character, or trying to make a shitty script into something worth watching . . . I’m creating images and recreating scenes from my life, without a director or a producer or a studio getting between what I want to create and what the audience gets to see.
If I stare at this much longer, I’m going to lose my nerve and not publish it, so I’ll just say: If I wasn’t writing, I’d be a nervous wreck right now, waiting for feedback from that audition, and freaking out about why they aren’t calling back . . . but I’ve got other stuff going on now.
A few days ago, I bought the 2004 Writer’s Market, because I’m going to face my fears of rejection and see if some magazines or anthologies are interested in publishing some of my stories. I never would have even dreamed about doing that last year, but you guys who read this site have given me so much support and encouragement, and O’Reilly is so excited about Dancing Barefoot, it seems like the risk is justified. I don’t want to get too excited about stuff that hasn’t happened yet, but I’m happy right now.
I guess that’s what this post is about: I’m really happy right now. It feels like some of the risks I’ve taken in the last few years are starting to pay off, and I wanted to share that with anyone who reads WWdN, because without you guys, none of this would be happening.
178 thoughts on “cobwebs fall on an old skipping record”
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Hey there Wil! Just picked up my copy of Dancing Barefoot after work this evening, and you know… it’s gonna take the place of Stephen King as my breaktime reading. Looking forward to JAG, and I’ll add my fanboy comment about loving the site here as well.
Many years ago I went to hear John Barth talk about writing. As I recall, he described renting a small office space in New York. Every morning he would go to this office, and he would write for about eight hours, with a break for lunch. Then he would go home, and be back the next day, five days a week.
The point is that he made a routine of writing, just as many of us have our routine of going to work. It sounds to me like you are doing something similar, and i just wanted to relate this to provide you with some validation for your discipline. Keep up the good work.
Honestly, Wil, it’s almost a year later since I stumbled upon your website and I still think it kicks butt. :^) You are a genuine person with a very big *heart* — and it shows. :^) You do have the American dream…a loving and supportive family, a beautiful house (I’m guessing based on the photos in your gallery), and happiness. Thanks for sharing some of that happiness with us. You don’t know how much of a pick-me-up that can be for some of us. :^) :^)
Back to the lurk cave I go….
hey wil,
i’ve tried thinking of so many different ways to say this without sounding really patronising, but the only way to say it is, I’m really proud of everything you’ve done. i was talking to my friend about your site the other day, and how you share so much with us randoms, stuff that many people don’t even talk about to thier close friends. You’ve overcome so much, and you still manage to entertain at least 106 people (thats how many comments there were!!!!!!) almost everyday!
anyway, babble over….
thank you wil, for everything!
from
rach
I dare say that you’ve earned all of these kudos!
Please continue earning them! (No pressure though lol)
Wil,
Facing your fears is one of the hardest things to do. One of mine was submitting things, too. Now the rejection slips are rolling in and, well, I couldn’t be happier, because some of the rejections are good rejections because editors are actually taking note of what I’m writing it seems with a hand-written note here and there. It takes time to over-come, but you will do well. The on-line version of Writer’s Market is something else I strongly suggest simply because it is fast and you can input it right there on the computer if you need to look something up, plus it has a weekly market change or update that the hardback copy doesn’t have. Your site does rock and you deserve kudos. Keep it up fellow writer. Your struggles encourage all of us who are likewise struggling, and I hope perhaps ours also helps you in some small way to let you know you are not alone.
*hugs*
I know what you mean about feeling about writing. I hesitate for other reasons tho. I’m autistic so I’m well aware I have language issues. I do know many others that have written books and I’ve started ones several times. Before not quite finishing because my daughter was dying or other stuff came up. I’m going to try to finish it even tho I may never publish it. But my original draw wasn’t writing it was music in my life. But times change and so do people over time.
With blogging yes your blog is cool. I love your site too. Many more people do that don’t always post.(eh all of UF loves you dude… tho still some of them are wondering where you put your mic… ie poingy poingy wave your promised JD)
I know others in your line of work and other parts of the industry. Sometimes it’s hard to have a private life when your in the eye of the public. But I think you keep a good balance. Also you help show people that hollywood or not your a normal person, with a variety of intrests… and not say doing some of the more wacky things that people hear comming out of LA. Also your a positive role model wheather you like it or not for lots of young geeks out there showing you can follow your heart and still be yourself. 🙂
As for blog content I don’t often hesitate when pressing send. But I’ve always lived my life an openbook. Only times I’ve held back on things were to protect the ones I love… tho I’m sure you’ve done the same and most others.
Btw hmm… Meme meme meme meme! come on lets all chant! 😉 you know you just gotta create one j/k… sorry blame JD for that tho I’m really glad it isn’t “Badger badger” anymore…
Wil, Wil, Wil, I must thank you, for your website, for sharing your ups and downs with strangers, for the laughs, free entertainment, and for being down to earth. I’m glad that your happy, and I hope that it stays that way. I’m also rather curious, have you ever thought about writing fiction? You never know. Thanks.
Good on ya, Wil. Don’t stop following your passion.
Wil,
“Do we belong to a mutual admiration society” or
what? I am thrilled that a celeb would actually
share his personal life with us underlings and admit that we are an important part of HIS life.
To know that I am loved by someone I’ve never met
and that I return this love–that is awesome.
your friend, Freeman 🙂
I often wonder if I should even bother posting here, since there are generally a hundred comments or so by the time I get here, there’s nothing that I can really say that’s going to be any different from what the other hundred people have said, and the chances of anyone actually reading this are quite slim.
Nevertheless, here I am, posting. Maybe it’s just the need to say what’s on my mind, or how the latest entry affected me. I tell you, Wil, I got a lump in my throat reading your latest entry. I know it wasn’t an emotional, tear-jerking kind of entry, but for some reason it just hit me that way.
You have every reason to be proud of this website, Wil. When it comes down to it, life is not about “success,” it’s about what makes you happy. I’m just glad that you found something that makes you happy.
I am glad you are finding joy in what you are doing..and you should be complimented, your website is fantastic:)
Loved Stand By Me twenty years ago. Thought you did well in Star Trek, though I didn’t think the writers made good use of your character.
Love your blog.
Still need to get your book (which I will be doing soon) and would love to see you do stand-up.
Let’s face it, Wil, you’re terminally multi-talented – past, present and future 🙂
Well this is shit!
I’d love to watch your show on Friday, Wil, but it looks like Dish Network and Viacom have other plans 🙁
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/updates/index.shtml
I no longer get VH1 (or other Viacom owned stations)
Fuck!
Wil, I love you to pieces..
but you really should get out more 😛
I just wanted to reply briefly, and let you know that I work as a high school English teacher, and a Humanities Professor (adjunct) for a local arts college. I link your work on the livejournal my students have access to, because I think you’re a good influence as a writer. If you ever want someone to take a look over your stuff, let me know.
-Solomon Davidoff
[email protected]
[email protected]
Wil-
It is always a good thing to see someone who had just had a happy day. I just wanted to say that I really like your website too! I also like the WORK you have done and are doing….but seeing who you ARE is really cool.
*Star*
Donna@UK…yeah, I’m okay. My car is totaled and my WWDN sticker is gone (*sniffle*) but I got away with only two staples in my head…damn top-heavy SUVs…:o)
I heart Wil Wheaton.
Abby: If I see you at a signing or something, I’ve got a replacement WWdN sticker for you.
Glad to hear you’re doing better. Fight on!
As everyone above has said…I love your website. I love the way you write. You should be very happy that you have found your groove, your voice, your calling! It’s a wonderful thing.
I was packing up a computer at work today and there was an O’Reilly computer book getting packed with it. I had to smile to myself as I thought “Hey, Wil Wheaton’s publisher…”
Keep writing, we’ll keep reading. Thank you so much for sharing yourself with us.
part of why we love your site is because you have the guts to share yourself with us and it is that connection that binds us all together and we root for you because you are great at what you do and are, at heart, a good person and aren’t afraid to show it.
we appreciate your honesty and wish you well in everything you do. your stories will get published and your life will keep getting happier and happier the more you stretch.
bon voyage!
You’ve been my favorite celeb since I offered you a little chocolate donut. And I’ve been reading your site for a long time now. You do really solid work, and are a really talented guy. Keep up the good work.
Lovely blog entry today, Wil. 🙂
Man, how many times do you have to read, “Dude, your website RAWKS!” in your comment pages before you start to believe it? How many recommended-literature lists do you have to get on before you realize you’re a talented writer? What’s with this imposter syndrome you seem to suffer with? Don’t you know we love you?
We love Uncle Willy! Keep writing–reading your stuff has gotten me through many a crappy day with a smile on my face!!
I love how we all feel like we know you. Like if any of us DID see you on the street, we’d feel perfectly comfortable to tell you how great that post you made was. Or ask if you’ve written anything this morning. I sometimes wonder if you realize how many friends you’ve made without trying. There are so many actors (and writers!) that we all love that we don’t feel a smidge as much connection to, because they haven’t invited us into their lives like you have.
Which is Why I Think Wil Wheaton Owes Me A New Pair Of Socks, To Replace The Ones He Rocked Off Of Me.
Much love. – Tina
Wil, just saw your interview on Screensavers.
Very kewl, you rock. You came off very comfortable and
having a great time. Loved the shirt…such a geeky shirt!
Mojo rising.
Speaking of “Phython” movie, my eight year old was watching this on cable a few weeks ago, and I pointed you out in the film. I said, ” Hey, that’s Wil! Wil Wheaton!.” He said, “Who?” I said, “He is an Actor and a Blogger on my favorites.” He thinks that is really cool to have you as a “favorite” Just thought you would like to know.
When I grow up, I wanna be like Unca Willie. (That’s assuming I grow up at some point…halfway though my 40’s and no sign of it, usually…)
Doing what you love is both the easiest thing and the hardest thing there is. Easy because…you love it! It excites you, gets the motor running, gives you a sense of joy and a belief in the rightness of the universe. Hard because…our society has traditionally given grief to folks who want to define their lives, not by how much they have in material terms, but by how fulfilled they feel. I’m getting up every morning and going to a job that pays the bills but does next to nothing for my soul–but I think the tipping point is getting close.
Thanks for showing me–and all of us–that it CAN be done.
My best to you and yours,
Syd
Well, this one brought me out of lurk mode as well.
I’ve been reading your site off and on for the past few years, probably via slashdot. Thanks to the wonderfulness of rss feeds, I have been reading every update for a few months now.
I love your writing style, and I’m going to pick up your book after I get my next paycheck. I guess I’m one of the few people in the world who didn’t have a problem with Wesley Crusher, maybe because he was/you are close to my age. Most of all, you seem like a down-to-earth, non-Hollywood, really cool kind of guy, and your writing comes across as very honest and real.
If you’re ever in the Milwaukee area (heh) we should totally meet up for some Guinness and a cigar at my favorite Irish pub… 😛
Heya Wil…don’t act so surprised! There’s a great many of us who thoroughly enjoy your site. BTW: Best wishes & thoughts to Kris!
Jodie
Regarding Writer’s Market and facing your fears, I have a little advice:
– Do it.
– Writer’s Market isn’t always as up to date or informative as they’d like you to believe. The advice I always hear from editors is a) read the magazine to see if they publish your kind of stuff, b) send in a request for the submission guidelines, since the often differ from what’s listed in WM, and c) learn the editor’s name — a cover letter starting “To Whom It May Concern, My story is perfect for your magazine…” just sets off all kinds of alarms.
– Be prepared for a lot of rejection slips. (My wish is that you prove me wrong.) I saved mine, stacking up to about twenty before my first sale, and then another fifteen before my second, etc. They may love the story but just not like it for their audience. It might seem like the editors are brushing you off, but you’d be surprised. I’d submitted several stories to this one editor, and each one came back with a rejection. Eventually, I bumped into him at a convention. He saw my name tag and said, “Hey, I haven’t gotten any stories from you lately. What’s up?” It put all those rejections into a totally different light.
– Persist.
Wil,
You wrote another good entry. It is nice to hear positive stuff. Both you and your wife did that today. Someone has to love to wright and I am glad that you are one of them.
FG
You write well. You connect. You’ve suffered the countless rejections an actor must face and you are still sane. Something joyous happened in your life and you shared it with us. Thanks! Keep on writing!
I didn’t discover your website until last year (my husband pointed it out to me), but I’ve greatly enjoyed reading it! I have all my favorite blogs linked, and yours is one of the ones I check with my morning coffee!
So, yeah, I love your website, too.:)
This post seems to have brought many of my fellow lurkers out, so I will join their numbers.
I can’t explain what I like about your site, but I do know that it’s one of the few I keep coming back to where the author writes almost exclusively about their life, not about the news or some new technology. You have a skill with words that’s admirable. I must admit that I’m jealous.
Thank you for sharing your life with all of us.
‘If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands…’
Who else has a warm, fuzzy, content feeling after reading that post?
Hey Wil!
I read your site evey day (if it’s updated) I really enjoy your writing and would like to read more by you – so submit all you can to the editors. Another good market listing is at http://www.ralan.com. It’s updated a lot more often than a book 😉
Keep up the good work!
Regards
Mikael Conley
Glad to hear you’re okay Abby! *Smacks SUV for being bad, for rolling over when it should have done a sit-stay!*
And heh wil said he’d give ya a new bumper sticker, how cool is that? =o)
My husband and I have been reading this blog for a while now, and this is my favorite post. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we “should” do and what we’re “good at” and what we’re MEANT to do. When I was in fifth grade, I wanted to write novels about adventures and supernatural stuff. Then “the grownups” told me to think about what i’m “good at” and what I “want to do” and “what I can get a job at.” I ended up a theatre major (excellent conservatory training–50k of finding out it wasn’t where i belonged) and now I’m a systems analyst. The pay rocks… the soul sucking does not. I’ve been trying to do graduate school for writing, and it’s taken me THREE YEARS to realize that this program isn’t right for me. I want to write about zombies and spacemen, they want me to write about girls with flower pots. I realized I’ve been trying to conform to academia’s idea of what “good writing” is (“literature!!”) and that’s not who I am. So, screw them, I dropped out and I’m writing a novel. I’m a basically insecure person, so it’s taken me a long time to convince myself I’m not crazy for hating fixing other people’s STUPID computer problems, and getting paid next to deal with the incest and politics that is “the performing arts”… it’s not my calling, and it’s not my passion, and God willing when the manuscript is done, I’ll have the nerve to get out that big book and start sending it off to people. Sorry for being a windbag, but this post really touched me. Thanks for being so honest on your site. It’s helped me so much in my own soul searching.
I’m a cute girl and I like your website.
More than anything else. It’s so good to read what you’ve written.
::Hands you some joy::
Keep it – you’ve earned it.
Wil, you inspire me.
I’m going to brush off that story I wrote a couple years ago and send it to a publisher. And then I’m going to write another one.
Thanks.
Yes this is indeed very cool.We appreciate YOU and the website.I am also glad to see Anne writing here as well…I wish you continued success.
It’s great to hear cute girls say nice things about you, isn’t it? Or so I’ve heard, anyway…
I really like your website, too, Wil.
Even though I’m a not-particularly-cute man.
Can I be like you if I ever decide to grow up?
Writing something every day, even if it’s horsecrap, is probably the most important thing a writer can do…and the thing that I struggle with the most, with Real Life beating down my front door. One of the reasons I went to part-time from full-time was to give myself time to write among other things…but the other things seem to be taking greater importance. (Insert virtual kick in the ass here).
Just remember, what one person sees as horsecrap is seen by someone else as fertilizer for their flower garden; it’s all in the point of view. We’ll both hang in there…
You are a great writer. I think it’s your true calling. I can only wish to be able to run into you nonchalantly and tell you how awesome your website is and how much I enjoy reading your life.
my favorite cake song, awesome.
all those “crappy movies” youve done are part of you, part of who you are today. you shouldnt want to be invisible. ever.
I’m happy for you, Wil, that you have found your passion. Love your website and stories. 🙂
Now get crackin’ on JAG. I need something new to read. 🙂
excellent sinatra reference.
and your website indeed rules.
i’ll be watching the Best Week Ever
eric
Wil, I feel like a tool. I was aware of this website, yet never visited until I met you a couple of weeks ago.
I approached you and told you how I admired your acting, blah-blah-blah. After reading this story, I feel like I must have been one of those “fans” that you do not want approaching you? Sorry, but I do like your acting past. Sue me.
However, I DO love your site and would have told you so had I been here. I can’t believe I hadn’t visited this site before, apparently my brother comes here all the time. I just hope you DO appreciate those people who like your acting work too.
Laura (The Disneyland Girl)